THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
GIFT
of
Prof. Myron I. Darker
HISTORY OF ENGLAND
1603-1642
VOL. VIII.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE TO MR. GARDINER'S
' HIS TOR Y OF ENGLAND. '
HISTORY of ENGLAND, from the ACCESSION of
JAMES I. to the DISGRACE of CHIEF-JUSTICE COKE,
1603-1616. 2 vols. 8vo. 1863.
PRINCE CHARLES and the SPANISH MARRIAGE,
1617-1623. 2 vols. 8vo. 1869.
HISTORY of ENGLAND under the DUKE of
BUCKINGHAM and CHARLES I. 1624-1628. 2 vols. 8vo.
1875.
The PERSONAL GOVERNMENT of CHARLES I.
from the DEATH of BUCKINGHAM to the DECLARA-
TION of the JUDGES in FAVOUR of SHIP-MONEY.
1628-1637. 2 vols. 8vo. J 877-
The FALL of the MONARCHY of CHARLES I.
1637-1642. 2 vols. 8vo. 1881.
The above Volumes were revised and re-issued in a cheaper form,
under the title of ' A History of England, from the Accession of
James I. to the Outbreak of the Civil War, 1603-1642.' 10 vols.
Crown 8vo. 1883-4.
HISTORY of the GREAT CIVIL WAR. 1642-1649.
(3 vols.)
VOL. I. 1642-1644. 8vo. 1886.
VOL. II. 1644-1647. 8vo. 1889.
VOL. III. 1647-1649. 8vo. 1891.
These Volumes have been revised and re-issued in a cheaper
form, in 4 vols. crown 8vo. uniform with the ' History of England,
1603-1642.' ^ 1893.
HISTORY of the COMMONWEALTH and PRO-
TECTORATE, 1649-1660. Vol. I. 1649-1651. 8vo. 1894.
HISTORY OF ENGLAND
FROM THE
ACCESSION OF JAMES I.
TO
THE OUTBREAK OF THE CIVIL WAR
1603-1642
BY
SAMUEL R. GARDINER, D.C.L., LL.D.
FELLOW OF MERTON COLLEGE, OXFORD, ETC.
'
IN TEN VOLUMES
VOL. VIII.
1 6 3 S 1 639
NEW EDITION
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
LONDON, NEW YORK, AND BOMBAY
1896
All rigKtt rtstrvtd
College
Library
CONTENTS
F v. 8
THE EIGHTH VOLUME.
CHAPTER LXXV.
IRELAND UNDER ST. JOHN AND FALKLAND.
1615 Sir Oliver St. John, Lord
Deputy .
1610-20 The Wexford planta-
tion . . . .
The religious difficulty
1612 Waterford elects recusant
magistrates
1615 The charter of Waterford
seized
1621 St. John created Lord
Gmndison
1622 Lord Falkland succeeds
Grandison as Lord De-
puty. . . .
1623 Proclamation for the ban-
ishment of the priests
1624 State of the army in Ire-
land . . . .
1626 The charter of Waterford
restored .
First draft of the Graces .
PACK
The Irish nobility con-
sulted . 14
1627 Bishop Downham's ser-
mon . . -15
Attempt to induce the
Irish to support the
army . 16
1628 A contribution agreed to . 17
The amended Graces . 17
Parliament summoned and
postponed . .18
1629 Difficulties with the Catho-
lics . . 19
Dissensions in the Irish
Council . . .20
1623-29 The Byrnes of Wick-
low . . 21
1629 Falkland's position shaken 26
Falkland recalled . . 27
1632 Wentworth appointed Lord
Deputy . 28
CHAPTER LXXVI.
WENTWORTH IN IRELAND.
1632 The Irish officials and the
Irish Parliament . 29
Wentworth's system of
government . . . 30
His view of the situation in
Ireland . . 32
33
The Earl of Cork
Wentworth means to see
with his own eyes . 33
1633 Arrives in Dublin . . 34
Obtains a prolongation of
the contribution . 35
945707
CONTENTS OF
PAGE
His confidence in the
power of government . 36
Restores the discipline of
the army . 37
His relations with the Irish
Council and the King . 37
L'ase of Lorenzo Gary . 38
Trade encouraged . 39
Condition of the Church . 4 1
Bedell at Kilmore . . 41
Wentworth's account of
the state of the Church . 43
The Ear) of Cork's seizure
of Church property
Lady Cork's tomb . 44
Church ceremonies . . 44
1634 Preparations for a Parlia-
ment . . -45
Wentworth's resolution
about the Graces . . 46
His speech at the opening
of Parliament . . 48
Parties in the House of
Commons . . 50
PAGE
Six subsidies granted . 50
Wentworth's struggle with
the Catholic party . . 51
The Irish Convocation . 52
The English Articles
adopted . . -53
1635 Presbyterianism in Ulster. 54
Proposed plantations in
Ormond and Connaught 55
English view of Irish
affairs . . . 56
The Londonderry settle-
ment . . -59
Forfeiture of the charter . 59
Wentworth's visit to Con-
naught . 60
Obtains an acknowledg-
ment of the King's title
to Roscommon, Sligo,
and Mayo . . 61
Resistance of the Galway
jury . . 62
Irish view of Wentworth's
policy . 64
CHAPTER LXXVII.
THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY.
1635 Alliance between Went-
worth and Laud . 67
Laud and Cottington at
the Treasury Commis-
sion . . 69
The soap patent . 71
Contention between Laud
and Cottington . . 75
Quarrel between Laud and
Windebank . . 76
The Essex Forest Court . 77
Coventry's speech to the
judges . 78
Announces that ship-
money must be paid by
all .' . -79
State of the finances . 8 1
Increase of the customs . 82
Foreign complications . 83
Issue of the second writ of
ship-money . . 84
Appeal to the fundamental
laws . . 84
The Forest Court in the
New Forests . . 86
Commission for Dean and
Essex Fore-t . . 86
Enlargement of Richmond
Park . . .87
Cottington expects to be-
come Lord Treasurer .
Case of Pell and Bagg in
the Star Chamber
Charles refuses to punish
91
Collection of ship-money . 92
Partial resistance . . 92
The judges consulted . 94
Was the King sole judge
of danger ? . . . 95
Is Parliament a constituent
part of the State ? . 96
Charles's offers to Spain
and the Emperor . . 97
Asks that Lorraine may be
exchanged for the Pala-
tinate . . -97
The Elector Palatine in
England . . . 99
Taylor's mission to Vienna 100
1636 The Emperor's offer . 101
Fresh difficulties in enforc-
ing the payment of ship-
money . 102
Chambers appeals in vain
to i he King's Bench . 103
State of feeling in the
nation . . . 104
THE EIGHTH VOLUME.
CHAPTER LXXVIII.
THE METROPOLITICAL VISITATION
1634 Thorough in Church and
State . . . 106
The metropolitical visita-
tion . . . 107
Visitation of Salisbury . 108
1635 Brent's reports . . 108
Various aspects of non-
conformity . . .in
Character of Laud's inter-
ference . . .112
Order for the removal of
the communion-tables . 114
Cases at Ware and Beck-
ington . 116
Case of Ward of Ipswich .
'I he foreign churches in
England
General irritation en used
by Laud's proceedings .
Gentlemen brought before
the High Commission .
Shelford's Five Discourses.
Baxter's reminiscences
Stafford's Female Glory .
Growing fear of Rome
Protestantism believed to
be in danger
I2O
121
122
I2 3
124
127
I2 7
129
CHAPTER LXXIX.
PANZANl's MISSION.
1635 Position of the English
Catholics . . . 130
1634 Panzani's arrival . . 133
1635 Panzani's conversations
with Windebank . .133
Deus, Natura, Gratia . 13-1
Windebank's scheme for
suppressing Puritanism . 135
Terms of reunion with
Rome discussed . 136
Panzani's hopes . . 137
Bishop Montague favours
the reunion . . 138
Brett's mission to the Pope 139
1636 Cottington's intrigues . 140
The King decides on
making Bishop Juxon
Treasurer . .141
Laud holds aloof from
Panzani
Montague's conversation
with Panzani
Case of Lady Purbeck
Laud vindicates his right
to visit the Universities.
Speech of Sir John Coke .
Juxon attempts to recon-
cile Laud and Winde-
bank
Laud's roughness ot
manner .
The King's visit to Oxford
Decoration of the college
chapels
No enthusiasm in the
streets .
T 43
M3
144
149
149
150
153
CHAPTER LXXX.
THE EARL OF ARUNDEL's MISSION TO VIENNA.
1036 Selden's Mare Clausum . 154
The sovereignty of the
seas . . . . 155
Northumberland Admiral
of the fleet . . 156
Small results of his voyage 158
Arundel's instructions . 158
Anmdels negotiation at
Vienna . . . 159
Its failure . . . 160
Leicester's negotiation in
France . . . 161
VI 11
CONTENTS OF
PAGE
A Spanish army in France. 161
Discussion of a treaty with
France . . . 163
Failure of the invasion of
France . . . 163
France strong through
toleration . . . 164
Conditions of toleration . 166
1634 Measures taken by the
Home Government
against the settlements
in New England . . 167
Resistance in America . 168
1635 Proceedings in Massa-
chusetts . . 169
Banishment of Roger
Williams . . 170
PACK
1634 English noblemen propose
to emigrate . . . 171
1635 Early life of the younger
Vane . . . 172
He arrives in Massachu-
setts . . . 173
1636 Mrs. Anne Hutchinson . 174
Vane takes her part . 175
1637 Discussion between Vane
and Winthrop on tolera-
tion . . . . 175
Vane returns to England . 177
1632 Baltimore projects the
Maryland colony . 177
The charter of Maryland . 178
1638 Practical toleration in
Maryland . . 180
CHAPTER LXXXI.
THE COURT-MARTIAL ON LORD MOUNTNORRIS.
1636 Theory of Charles's govern-
ment . . . 182
1635 Wentworth's proposed
plantation in Connaught. 183
Laud warns Wentworth . 184
Wentworth's quarrel with
Mountnorris . . 185
The dinner at the Lord
Chancellor's . . 186
The court-martial on
Mountnorris . .187
Wentworth's account of
his proceedings . .189
1636 Mountnorris expelled from
office . . . 193
Wentworth visits England
and defends his adminis-
tration . . . 194
The King approves of his
conduct . . . 197
Nature of his rule in Ire-
land . . . 198
CHAPTER LXXXI I.
THE THIRD WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY.
1636 English finance . . 199
Issue of the third ship-
money writ . . . 200
Danby's letter to the King. 201
Charles shrinks from sum-
moning Parliament . 202
1637 Warwick's protest . . 203
Charles prepares to assist
his nephew . . 203
Fresh overtures from
France . . . 204
Charles consults the judges
on the legality of his levy
of ship-money . . 205
Declaration by the judges. 208
Legal and political aspects
of the question . . 208
A treaty with France
accepted . .210
Wentworth's comment on
Charles's foreign policy. 211
Comparison between
Wentworth and Riche-
lieu . . . . 214
Nature of Wentworth's
mistakes . -215
The French refer the con-
sideration of the treaty
to their allies . . 217
Windebank's overtures to
the Dutch fishermen . 218
Negotiations at Brussels . 219
Northumberland attempts
in vain to distribute fish-
ing licences . . 220
Charles's position in the
summer of 1637 . . 221
THE EIGHTH VOLUME.
CHAPTER LXXXIII.
THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION.
1637 Ecclesiastical difficulties . 224
The unlicensed press . 225
Prynne, Bastwick, and
Burton . . . 226
Their trial in the Star
Chamber . . 228
Laud's defence of himself. 229
Execution of the sentence
on Prynne, Bastwick,
and Burton . . 231
The press muzzled . 234
Laud and the Catholics . 235
Con as the Papal Agent
at Court . . . 236
The Queen's support of
the Catholics . . 236
The Catholic converts . 238
Laud urges strong mea-
sures against prosely-
tism . . . 239
Struggle between Laud
and the Queen . . 240
The Queen s triumph . 241
1638 The Earl of Newcastle
appointed Governor of
the Prince . . 243
English Puritanism Mil-
ton's Lycidas . . 244
John Hutchinson . . 246
1637 john Lilburne . . 248
His sentence in the Star
Chamber . . 249
George Wither . . 250
1628 Bishop Williams prose-
cuted in the Star Cham-
ber . . . 251
1635 His second prosecution . 252
The Holy Table, Name
and Thing . . . 253
1637 Sentence on Williams . 254
The Latitudinarians
Falkland . . 255
Chillingworth . . 259
The religion of Protestants 262
John Hales of Eton . . 265
1638 His interview with Laud . 267
Influence of Latitudina-
rianism not immediate . 268
CHAPTER LXXXIV.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION.
1637 Ship-money provided for
an actual want . . 269
The expedition to Sallee . 270
Constitutional objection to
ship-money . . 271
Hampden's case in the
Exchequer Chamber . 272
1638 The decision of the
Judges . . . 277
Extravagant language of
Finch . . . 279
Arrears of ship-money col-
lected . . . 280
The Forest Courts . 282
Corporate monopolies . 282
Brickmakers, coal-shippers,
and soap-makers . 283
Salt works . . . 284
Starch-makers, maltsters,
and brewers . . 285
Vintners . 286
The growth of London . 287
City petition against . 288
The physicians' report . 289
The Londonderry forfei-
ture . . 290
The new Corporation . 290
Hackney coaches the
letter-post . .291
Drainage of Hatfield
Chase . . . 292
Drainage of the Great
Level . . . 294
Riots in the Fens . . 296
Intervention of the King . 298
Charles's position in the
country . . . 299
The City of London a
type of the local organi-
sations . . . 301
Hopelessness of the King's
aim ... 303
CONTENTS OF
CHAPTER LXXXV.
THE RIOTS IN EDINBURGH.
1633 Feeling of the Scottish
nobility towards the
bishops . . . 304
The Scottish Church . 305
1635 Notes of an English tra-
veller in Scotland . . 306
1634 Charles resolves to intro-
duce a new Prayer-Book 307
The Church Courts . 308
1635 Preparation of Canons and
a Prayer-Book . . 309
1636 Issue of the Canons . 310
The Prayer-Book sub-
mitted to a few bishops . 310
It is dhliked as Popish
and English . . 311
1637 Orders given to enforce its
use . . . 312
Temper of the nobility
The tumult at St. Giles' .
Traqnair's management .
The King's annoyance
Henderson's petition
Charles unable to draw
back
The Council does not sup-
port him
The second riot at Edin-
burgh
Persistence of Charles
The third riot at Edin-
burgh
The General Supplication
Commissioners chosen by
the leaders of the Oppo-
sition
PAGB
313
3'4
316
320
3 2I
322
3 2 3
324
CHAPTER LXXXVI.
THE SCOTTISH COVENANT.
1637 Organised resistance . 325
1638 Traquair's visit to London. 326
Charles justifies the
Praver-Book . . 327
The Tables . . 328
The National Covenant . 329
Scene in the Grey Friars'
Church . . 333
Traquair's account to the
King . . -334
An Assembly and a Parlia-
ment demanded . . 334
General circulation of the
Covenant . . 335
Reluctance of Charles to
give way . 335
Ill-treatment of those who
re/use to sign the Cove-
nant . . . 336
Practical unity of the Scot-
tish nation . . . 338
Charles resolves to nego-
tiate in order to gain
time
Hamilton appointed Com-
missioner
He despairs of success
He arrives in Scotland and
gives an account of the
situation
His reception at Edin-
buign
C'harles prepares for war .
Hamilton offers to induce
the King to consent to
summon an Assembly
and a Parliament
The Divine Right of
Assemblies
Hamilton's intrigue with
the Covenanters
He returns to England .
339
340
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
THE EIGHTH VOLUME.
CHAPTER LXXXVII.
THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW.
1638 The English Council in-
formed on Scottish affairs 349
1637 Wentworth's progress in
the West of Ireland . 351
His views on the conduct
of Prynne and Hampden 352
1638 His opinion of the policy
to be pursued for the re-
duction of the Scottish
Covenanters . . 354
Early life of Montrose . 356
Montrose as a Covenanter 358
The Aberdeen doctors . 358
Huntly and Argyle . . 359
Montrose at Aberdeen . 360
Hampton's second mission
to Scotland . . 361
He attempts to divide the
Covenanters . -361
His return to England and
third mission to Scotland 362
The King's Covenant . 363
An Assembly and a Parlia-
ment summoned . 363
Resistance to the King's
Covenant . . . 364
Election of the Assembly . 365
Charles resolves to resist . 366
The Bishops cited before
the Assembly . . 368
Meeting of the Assembly
at Glasgow . . 368
It declares itself duly con-
stituted . . . 370
Question whether the Bish-
ops are subject to cen-
sure by the Assembly . 37?
PAGB
Hamilton dissolves the
Assembly . . 371
Argyie's position in Scot-
land . . . 372
The Assembly continues
sitting and abolishes
Episcopacy . . 373
War becomes inevitable . 374
The Congress at Ham-
burg . 375
Unsuccessful expedition of
the Elector Palatine . 376
Serret negotiations at
Brussels . . . 377
Mary de Medicis proposes
to visit England . . 379
Her arrival in London . 380
Bernhard of Weimar's suc-
cesses on the Upper
Rhine . . . 381
1639 Relation of the Scottish
troubles to Continental
politics . . . 383
Hamilton's report on his
mission . . . 382
Preparations for levying an
army . . . 383
Charles asks that Spanish
troops may be sent to
England . . 386
The Scottish army . . 387
Alexander Leslie . . 388
The Scottish manifesto . 389
Williams before the Star
Chamber . . . 390
Publication of the Large
Declaration . . 391
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAPTER LXXV.
IRELAND UNDER ST. JOHN AND FALKLAND.
FOR seven years, from 1615 to 1622, Sir Oliver St. John ruled
Ireland. In the main, he walked in the steps of Chichester.
,6i 5 . In Wexford, Leitrim, Longford, Westmeath, and in
St. Johns other parts, advantage was taken of some defect in
government
of Ireland, the title by which, according to English law, the
owners of the soil held their property, to convert the old loose
Fresh Irish tenures into heritable freeholds. In one re-
piantations. S p ec t these plantations differed for the better from
the Ulster settlement. Care was taken that three-fourths of
the land to be divided should come into the hands of natives,
and that a quarter only should be assigned to British under-
takers. Yet even if the Government were animated by the
best intentions and there is every reason to believe that its
intentions were good the system which it adopted was one
which must necessarily have entailed considerable hardships
on the original inhabitants of the land.
The mode in which the Government acted will be best
understood by the single example of the Wexford plantation,
which was commenced under Chichester and carried
IDIO.-
State of to completion by his successor. In the northern
ord> part of Wexford there were several septs which
claimed the land as their inheritance by Irish tenure. These
septs, after some delay, had claimed the benefit of a procla-
V'OL. VIII." B
2 IRELAND UNDER ST. JOHN. CH. LXXV.
mation issued early in James's reign, and had surrendered
their lands to the King, in the expectation that they would
receive them back, to be held by English tenure. Unfortu-
nately for them, this arrangement was never carried out.
Someone discovered that the surrender had been made after
the time prefixed by the proclamation had elapsed ; and before
any steps were taken to remedy the mistake, Chichester was
informed that the legal title to the whole district was in leality
vested in the King. An Irish chief, it was said, had made over
the land to Richard II. That sovereign had granted it to Lord
Beaumont, whose heir, Lord Lovel, had been attainted in the
reign of Henry VII. According to English law, therefore, the
land forfeited by Level's treason had come back to the Crown. 1
The suggestion that this new discovery might be used to
effect a plantation in the county of Wexford was not one which
Chichester was likely to neglect. He did not, indeed, intend
to thrust the Irish from their lands. He meant that they should
live on them as before, safe under English guardianship, and
prospering in well-being and civilisation. To the Celtic tribes-
man the chicanery of the lawyers was the too certain portent of
evil to come. He knew that Dublin swarmed with adventurers
who had crossed St. George's Channel to repair their broken
fortunes, and he was filled with a well-grounded suspicion of
the English-speaking speculator, who was able to take every
possible advantage of legal forms, and was skilled in all the arts
by which a neighbour's landmark might be removed without
open illegality. 2 Even with the best prospect before him the
Celt was not likely to be very eager to embrace the advantages
1 Report of the Commissioners, Nov. 12, 1613, Irish Cal. iv. 786.
2 "Alii aliis vexantur modis. Si cuivis tituli vestigium vel term-
issimum ex reconditis archiviis, vel publicis scriniis aut tabulariis (de
quibus nulla mentio per multas annorum centurias farrdo audita fuit) jam
tandem actuariorum fraude, dolo, vel avaritia in lucem producatur ; si
qua proscriptionis plagula (quae tamen obducta postmodum cicatrice, et
medel& adhibita sanari potuit, et, si regesta accurate evolvantur, monu-
mentis commendata reperiri queant) ilia vel minima vulneris umbra
detegitur, enodatur, exprimitur ; miserique nepotes premuntur, nudantur,
spoliantur, et ex cptimis territoriis ablegantur, vel ex dominis, heris, ac
heredibus, deveniunt servorum servi et novorum mancipia dominorum."
T. N. (i.e. Bishop Roth) Analccla Sacra, (ed. 1616), p. 188.
I6io THE WEXFORD PLANTATION. 3
offered by a plantation. The old system of tenure, with all its
faults, was familiar to him ; and the old life, with its wild out-
bursts of animal spirits, its joyous disregard of the decencies of
civilised existence, was hard to shake off.
In 1611 Chichester's plan for the settlement of Wexford
was drawn up, and Sir Lawrence Esmond and Sir Edward
!6n. Fisher were sent into the district to survey the lands
P Untftion h of to ^ e divided, the extent of which was about 61,000
Wexford. acres. 1 In making their report the Commissioners
stated that some 15,000 acres were already held by legal tenure,
and that 24,000 acres were to be set apart for natives of English
or Irish descent whose lives in some way conformed to the
English standard, leaving 22,000 to be bestowed upon strangers,
who were expected to build fortified houses or castles for the
maintenance of order in the country. 2
It soon became evident that the proceedings of the Com-
missioners were not regarded with approbation by the Irish
population. Some fifty persons, indeed, who were already large
landed proprietors, and who therefore had good reason to expect
that their submission would be reckoned to their advantage when
the division was made, gave their adhesion to the scheme. The
remainder of the population, consisting of about 14,500 men,
women, and children, of whom about 3,500 would be grown-up
men, was almost without exception opposed to it.
It would indeed have been strange if it had been otherwise.
Not only were 22,000 acres, or nearly half the divisible land,
set apart for strange colonists, but the claims of those
the Irish who in some way or other possessed freehold rights,
lon< were treated with contempt. Of this class there were,
according to native calculation, 667, and even the English ac-
knowledged the existence of 440. Of the whole of this number
no more than 57 were to receive lands in freehold, in compen-
sation for those of which they were to be deprived, whilst of
these only 21 were to retain the houses which they previously
occupied. The remainder, on the plea that the amount of land
1 The amount is given in another paper (Irish Cat. iv. 781) as 66,800,
probably including other lands not divisible.
* Report, Irish Cal. iv. 255.
B a
4 IRELAND UNDER ST. JOHN. CH. LXXY.
which they held was too small to entitle them to consideration,
were to be evicted from their possessions, though they were to
be compensated by receiving farms on leases for years or lives
from the new proprietors. As for the tribal rights of some 3,006
Irishmen, who had no claim to possess land in freehold at all,
they were entirely ignored. It is no wonder that the Commis-
sioners found it expedient to terrify the people into acquies-
cence by asserting that the King, if he pleased, might seize the
property of all who had taken part in recent acts of rebellion,
and that they fortified their assertion by empannelling a jury,
which at once proceeded to the attainder of 185 persons. After
this they were able to explain any manifestation of adverse
feeling by the misinformation which certain lawyers had spread
amongst the natives for their own selfish ends. 1
The next step to be taken by the Government was to
summon a jury at VVexford to find the King's title. The jury,
Dec. 4. however, proved recalcitrant, and declared against
A jury re- ^g c rown . The jury was summoned before the
fuses to find J '
for Uie King. Exchequer at Dublin, and it then appeared that, of
the sixteen of which it was composed, eleven some, if not all
of them being closely Connected by blood with Sir Lawrence
Esmond, who was one of the Commissioners and principal
undertakers in the plantation 2 were ready to do as the Govern-
ment wished. The other five were sent to prison and, finally,
censured that is to say, in all probability, fined in the Castle
Chamber. The eleven were then reinforced by others, some
at least of whom had an interest in the proposed plantation, and
by the new jury thus composed a title was found for the Crown. 3
.For some time, however, little or nothing was done to carry
tli is finding into effect. Chichester had probablv too much on
his hands during the session of the Parliament which met in
1613, and at the time of his recall in 1615 he left the VVexford
plantation to his successor.
Scarcely had Chichester left Ireland when Sir Edward
tisher and others, of whom William Parsons, the speculator
1 Petition of R. M'Damore and others May(?) 1616, Irish Cal. v. 248.
1 Report on the Wexford Plantation, Sept. 1611, ibid. iv. 255.
* Report of Commissioners, Nov. 12, IJ3I.J, ibid. iv. 781,
I6i6 THE WEXFORD PLANTATION. 5
in Irish lands, was one, preferred a bill in the Exchequer against
j6i6 the inhabitants of a portion of the district, claiming
March. the land as their own in virtue of a patent from
FishTr and the Crown. Before the native proprietors had time
to answer, Fisher obtained the service of a body of
soldiers and ejected them from their homes. 1
It was probably in consequence of the representations made
by the injured persons to the new Lord Deputy that a fresh
Z 6i8. survey of the lands was ordered. When it was finally
Anewsur- completed, the scandalous arrangement by which
pieted. nearly half of the divisible land had been reserved
for the undertakers was frustrated, and provision was made for
restricting the strangers to the fourth part which had been origi-
nally intended for them. In this way freeholds were provided
for eighty more Irishmen, who naturally expressed their warm
satisfaction with their unexpected good fortune. 2 Nothing,
however, was done for the remaining population. Many of
the ejected took refuge in the hills, and led the life of outlaws,
robbing where they could. From a statement made by St;
John in 1619, that three hundred of them had been killed or
hanged in the course of three years, it is evident that they must
have been exceedingly numerous. 3 Many of them were, no
doubt, as St. John alleged, younger sons having no means of
life because they were too proud to work ; but it is highly
probable that the numbers of the outlaws were swollen by dis-
satisfied peasants, whose old habits of life were compulsorily
changed, and who resented, whether they had been small free-
holders or not, the offer of the position of tenants in exchange
for their original independence.
In the eyes of St. John no harm whatever had been done,
A few of the dispossessed natives made their way to London,
where some were arrested and transported to Virginia,
St. John Those who returned to Ireland were joined in Dublin
ied ' by 200 of their fellows, where they reiterated their
complaints and where they were at once committed to prison.
1 Petition of M'Damore and others, May (?) 1616, Irish Cal. v. 248,
2 Docwra to (?), March 3, 1618, ibid. v. 399.
* St. John to the English Council, Sept. 29, 1619, ildd. v. 582.
6 IRELAND UNDER ST. JOHN. CH. LXXV.
As far as material prosperity was concerned Wexford was
no doubt the better for the change. 1 As in Ulster, houses and
State of castles were built, and for those who were excluded
Wexford. f rom freehold tenure there were farms to be held at
long leases, or labourer's work with some certainty of employ-
ment. On the other side of the account was the irritation
caused by the denial of rights long held sacred, and the sense
of insecurity which always follows when the mass of the people
believes that its Government is actuated by motives which it is
unable to connect with its own ideas of justice.
It was impossible for any Lord Deputy to ignore the es-
trangement between the governors and the governed which
Difficulties naturally resulted from the attempt of English states-
flh h dovera- men to lift a whole race to a higher stage of civilisa-
ment. ft On by a violent severance of the bonds which united
the living generation to its predecessor. No Lord Deputy,
however, unless he was capable of throwing off the ideas of his
time, could be expected to act otherwise than as St. John had
acted, or to content himself with a more gradual process of
improvement, based upon a recognition of Irish sentiment at
least as a foundation upon which to work.
To the English official the Irish feeling about religion was
as contemptible as the Irish land-system, though it was far more
Thereiigious difficult to deal with. It was not only rooted in a
difficulty. sentiment which he regarded as grossly superstitious,
but it gave strength to a priesthood the influence of which was
politically dangerous, and which could not, by any possibility,
be otherwise than disloyal to a Protestant sovereign bent on
maintaining the predominance of his own religion. It is true
that a ruler in possession of overwhelming military force would
have found his wisest course in tolerating what he could not
alter, and in endeavouring, by the maintenance of order and
by the gradual diffusion of the blessings of an enlightened
government, to rally round him the gratitude of those who
would owe to him much of their material prosperity, and whose
spiritual interests were left to their own care. Unhappily, not
1 St. John and the Council to the English Council, Dec. 6, 1620,
Irish Cat, v. 710.
1620 THE WATERFORD CORPORATION. 7
only was toleration, in those days, regarded as a bad thing in
itself, but the Irish Government had not the command of that
force which alone could make it feel safe enough to practise it.
The Irish army was a mere skeleton of a military force, 1 and
there were no regiments of trained soldiers to be had at short
notice from England. A combination of the Irish tribes even
from a few neighbourhoods would task all the resources of the
Deputy, and it was certain that no organisation was so capable
of bringing about a combination of the natives as that of the
priesthood of the Church of Rome. The difficulty in the
way of the Government was too political to justify any Lord
Deputy in refusing to confront it : at the same time, it was
too religious to give him any chance of encountering it with
success.
Though it was impossible to enforce the payment of a
shilling fine for each Sunday's non-attendance at church upon
The fine for a whole population, great annoyance was caused
an" e a at end ^ t ^ ie ar bJ trai T selection of individuals to bear the
church. penalty without any corresponding advantage to the
State. It seemed more easy to deal with the case of a single
The port- locality. Ever since the suppression of the rebellion
towns. m t h e p Ort towns in the first year of James's reign,
they had taken every opportunity of showing their hostility
to the Government. Of these places VVaterford had shown
1612. itself the hardest to deal with. It persistently
Jhreatlned elected magistrates who refused to take the oath of
for electing supremacy. In 1612 James ordered Chichester to
recus.int . .... . -,-1 / j
magistrates, suppress its municipal liberties, if the citizens refused
to abandon the course which they had adopted. 2 The citizens,
1613. however, stood firm, and in the autumn of 1613
Waterfprd t h e recusa nt magistrates were still in office. 3 The
maintains its
position. position which Waterford had taken up was the more
obnoxious to the Government, as it was enabled by its charter
1 On Feb. 4, 1622, the whole force consisted of 1,712 men. Irish Col.
v. 816.
- The King to Chichester, Sept. 30, 1612, ibia. iv. 529.
3 Morysou to Chichester and the Commissioners, Oct. 13. 1613, ibid
iv. 763.
8 IRELAND UNDER ST. JOHN. CH. LXXV
to refuse admission to the King's judges, and thereby to dis-
pense with the holding of assizes at which penalties might be
inflicted for nonconformity in religion. 1
Scarcely had St. John assumed the reins of government
when the case of Waterford became ripe for action. A rule
1615. was obtained in the Irish Chancery for the seizure of
The liberties j ts charter unless the corporation would voluntarily
of Waterlord *
seized. surrender it. 2 Legal difficulties, however, seem to
have stood in the way, and it was not till 1617 that a verdict
1617. of a jury of the county of Waterford found the
verdict of a liberties of the city to be forfeited. 3 Upon this the
county jury, corporation promised to surrender its charter, but
neglected to fulfil its engagement. Accordingly, in the spring
i6 8 of 1618, the Court of Chancery proceeded to a final
The charter judgment, declaring the forfeiture of the municipal
forfeited. ,., . /- .1 .
liberties of the city. 4
It was easier to declare the charter to be forfeited than
to know how to supply its place. The fixed idea of English
1619. politicians was that if Irishmen would not come up
chan'ts h to 1 be" to ^ expectations of their rulers, Englishmen must
introduced. De brought over to supply their places. Early in
1619, therefore, the English Privy Council proposed that, as
there was no one in Waterford fit to occupy a place in a new
Protestant corporation, English merchants should be induced
to settle in the city, and to undertake its government. 5 In the
following August St. John recommended that at least thirty
should be induced to emigrate. They were to bring their
families with them, and at least 5007. apiece. What was of
even greater importance, they must be of good character and
fit to exercise the office of a magistrate. They would have no
difficulty in finding accommodation at Waterford, as there was
plenty of waste ground to build on, including the sites of two
1 Commissioners' Report, Nov. 12, 1613, Irish Cal. iv. 781.
1 Da vies to Lake, Dec. 2O, 1615, ibid. v. 195.
8 St. John to Winwood, Oct. II, 1617, ibid. v. 373.
4 Docwra to (?), March 3, 1618, ibid. v. 399.
* St. John to the English Council, Feb. 26, 1619, ibid. v. 526.
THE WATERFORD CORPORATION. 9
ruined abbeys. If the owners chose to ask too- high a pi ice,
the Irish Government would interpose and reduce them to
1620. reason. 1 The scheme which seemed so hopeful to
Failure oi J ames an d St. John was wrecked on an unexpected
the plan. obstacle. The English Privy Council wrote to the
mayor and aldermen of Bristol, inviting them to select fitting
men for the new settlement. The traders of Bristol, however,
were not tempted by the offer of a residence in the midst of
a hostile population. Not one could be induced to leave his
home for such a purpose, and the government of Water-
ford had, therefore, for the present to be carried on from
Dublin. 2
St. John's career in Ireland was drawing to a close. Early
in 1621 he was Created Viscount Grandison in the Irish peerage.
i6ai According to the ideas prevalent in England, his
St. John career had not been unsuccessful. He had main-
visc'cfunt tained the King's authority, and had advanced
Grandison. pi an j a ti ons but complaints were always rife in Ire-
land, and it was easy to imagine at Whitehall that a change
of government was needed rather than a change of system.
1622. Before the end of the year it was resolved that
May 4 . Grandison should be recalled, and on May 4, 1622,
Grandison ' ^'
recalled. he delivered up the sword to the Lords Justices who
were to exercise authority till the arrival of his successor.
That successor, Henry Gary, Viscount Falkland, in the
Scottish peerage, owed his appointment to the favour of Buck-
ingham. A man, naturally kindly and desirous of
Falkland .. ,-,.. i j i ,-i i
Lord fulfilling his duties, he was alike wanting in the
eputy. clear-sightedness which detects the root of an evil,
and in the firmness which is needed to eradicate it. His letters
are full of querulous complaints of men and things, and of
expositions of the intractable nature of the population com-
mitted to his charge, mingled with very scanty suggestions of
remedies to be adopted.
1 St. John and the Council to the English Council, Aug. 4, 1619, Irish
Col. v. 564.
2 Mayor and Aldermen of Bristol to the English Council, Jan. 31,
1620, ibid. v. 615.
10 IRELAND UNDER FALKLAND. CH. LXXV.
When Falkland arrived in Dublin in September, 1622, he
^ t 6 came with the full resolution of putting an end to the
Falkland's activity of the Catholic clergy. Usher urged him to
severity in a sermon on the text, " He beareth not
. the sword in vain," and Falkland imagined it to be
The Catholic . .
clergy to be possible to accomplish that which so many stronger
men than himself had failed to do. In a despatch
to the English Privy Council he drew a dismal picture of the
1623. state of Ireland. Priests swarmed in every part of
Prociama' tne country, and excited the people by telling them
!n n the* nish " t ^ iat tnere would soon be a toleration in religion. ] On
priests. January 21, 1623, the Lord Deputy issued a pro-
clamation ordering the banishment of the priests. 2
Under no circumstances was such a proclamation likely to
be obeyed in Ireland, and least of all at a time when the con-
clusion of the marriage treaty with Spain was the main object
of the English Government. The attitude of the Catholics
became more provoking than ever when it was known that the
Prince had gone to Madrid to woo in person a Catholic bride.
Wild As the summer wore on the wildest rumours were in
rumours. circulation. Tyrone, it was said, would soon return.
At the fair at Kells, one Henry Dowdall announced publicly
that the Prince was actually married in Spain, and that Buck-
ingham had carried a cross before him at the ceremony. At
Cavan two or three thousand Irishmen gathered to hear mass,
and threatened to do the like in the parish church. 3 In Decem-
ber the nobility of the Pale thought the time was come when
their complaints might be made with effect, and
deputation proposed, under the pretext of offering their congra-
tulations to the Prince on his return from Spain, to
send agents to England to state their case. 4 By this time,
however, the breach with Spain was already in contempla-
1 Falkland and the Council to the English Council, Oct. I, 1622,
Irish Cal. v. 954.
* Proclamation, Jan. 21, 1623, ibid. v. 980.
1 Falkland to Calvert, Oct. 20, ihid. v. 1076.
Falkland to Conway, Dec. 14, ibid. v.
1624 THE ARMY IN IRELAND. II
tion, and on January 21 Falkland was able to issue a second
time his proclamation for the banishment of the
1624. *
Banishment priests. l James, however, was for some time hesi-
of the priests . . .
gain tatmg whether to throw himself into opposition to
Spain or not, and on February 17 the English Privy
Council checked the ardour of Falkland, directing him to
Feb content himself with the suppression of tumultuous
Falkland ' assemblies, of the erection of religious houses, and
held back. ^ meetings which were likely to be dangerous to
the State. 2
Before long, however, the breach with Spain actually took
place, and Falkland's hands were freed. He was, however, in
no position to take violent action against the priests,
rumours in A fresh crop of rumours sprang up, of warlike pre-
parations in Spain to be directed to the relief of
Ireland, and in the midst of the excitement he was compelled
to stand on the defensive.
The diminutive army on which alone Falkland could rely
was in evil plight. When the last Lord Deputy left Ireland it
State of the had been unpaid for two years and a half. "For my
army. part," Grandison had written to the English Council
just before his departure from Dublin, "I pray you to receive
the intercession I make for them now in the perclose of my
government as the last words of a dying man that have long
beheld this lamentable spectacle with much compassion ; and if
I shall be made so unhappy to leave this government with an
arrear of half the time I have continued in it, I know I shall
be followed with a thousand curses, and leave behind me an
opinion that my unworthiness or want of credit has been the
cause of leaving the army in worse estate than ever any of my
predecessors before me have done." 3 Under Falkland the
condition of the soldiers was no better. The Irish revenue
was insufficient to pay the expenses of governing the country,
and there were too many calls on the English exchequer to
enable the richer country to supply the deficiency. It was,
1 Proclamation, Jan. 21, 1624, Irish Cal. v. 1139.
2 The English Council to Falkland, Feb. 17, 1624, ibid. v. 1151.
* Grandson to the English Council, April 8, 1622, ibid. v. 837.
12 IRELAND UNDER FALKLAND. CH. LXXV.
therefore, no slight relief to Falkland when the English Parlia-
ment of 1624 not only sent fresh reinforcements to
granted by Ireland, but accompanied them with six months'
" 8 an ' pay drawn from the subsidies which it had recently
granted. The relief, however, was but temporary. In the follow-
1625. ing year Falkland complained that the pay of the men
d^su^Tof had ^ a ^ en f ur months in arrear. l The natural con-
the soldiers, sequences ensued. The appointed guardians of the
peace became its worst violators. The peaceable inhabitants
1626. were robbed, in order that the soldiers might have
T uemJisr wherewith to live. The discipline of the army was
erd. ruined, whilst the discontent of Irishmen of all classes
was grievously aggravated. 2
In the autumn of 1626, when it seemed likely that a war
with France would be added to a war with Spain, the defence-
Thearmy to ^ ess state f Ireland could no longer be left unnoticed
be increased, by the English Government One of the Lords of
the Pale, the Earl of Westmeath, had been for some time in
London, where he obtained a hearing for the 'grievances of his
countrymen. With the advice of the English Privy Council,
Charles resolved to increase the army in Ireland. He would
have a standing force of 5,000 foot and 500 horse. The sup-
port of such an army must not, as hitherto, be left to chance.
As it was hopeless to expect to draw the money which was
needed for the pay of the soldiers from the English exchequer,
some method of imposing the burden upon Ireland must be
devised.
If Irishmen were to be induced to find the money, it would
be necessarv to pay some attention to their com-
I'he charter . . , . . ,
ofWaterford plaints. As a preliminary measure the Charter of
red " Waterford was restored, and a recusant mayor in-
stalled in office. 3
1 Falkland and the Council to the English Council, Nov. 28, 1625.
2 Falkland and the Council to the King, March 4, 1626, Add. MSS.
3827, fol. 56, 74.
* Falkland to Conway, Sept. n, 1626. On Nov. 3, the new Mayor
and Sheriffs sent Conway a present of Irish whiskey, as a token of their
gratitude. S. P. Ireland.
1626 ;, THE GRACES. 13
On September 22 Falkland was directed to convene an
assembly of the nobility, and to invite them to engage for the
payment of a regular contribution by each county
The nobility for the maintenance of the army. In order to in-
to corT ked fluence the decision of this assembly, a statement of
'nbute. the concessions which Charles was ready to make
was to be laid before it.
These concessions, in the form which they ultimately as-
sumed, are known in history as the Graces. Those which
First draft of touched the burning questions of the Church and
the Graces, j^g j an( j possessed a special importance. It was
not likely that anything would be done for that considerable
portion of the population which had suffered from the suppres-
sion, without compensation, of the Irish tenures. The grievances
which were to be redressed were those of the middle and upper
classes. It was upon them that the fitful exaction of the shilling
fine almost exclusively weighed. It was from them, too, that
the complaints against religious disabilities mainly proceeded.
No man, they had often urged, could take office or even prac-
tise in the law courts without taking the oath of supremacy. In
the reign of James a Court of Wards had been established in
Ireland, which claimed the right of providing that the heirs
which fell under its control should be educated in the Protestant
religion, and which tendered the oath of supremacy to the heir
arriving at full age before it permitted him to enter upon his
inheritance.
For most of these grievances provision was made by the
Graces. Charles could not persuade himself to abandon his
hold upon heirs under age, but he consented to substitute for
the old oath of supremacy a new oath of allegiance which no
loyal Catholic would feel any difficulty in taking, and to re-
nounce, except in special cases, the shilling fine for non-attend-
ance at church.
On the land question the Graces were still more liberal.
By consenting to the acceptance of sixty years' pos-
Articles , , '
affecting the session as a bar to all claims of the Crown based
upon irregularities of title, Charles put an end to
the prevailing fear of fresh plantations, a boon which was more
14 IRELAND UNDER FALKLAND. CH. LXXV.
especially welcome in Connaught. The landowners there had
received a recognition of their titles from Elizabeth and James, 1
but the officials entrusted with the duty of enrolling the patents
by which this recognition acquired legal force had neglected
their work. Charles now declared that no advantage should
be taken of the omission. Finally, he promised to call a Par-
liament in Ireland to take into consideration the grievances of
his subjects. 2
On November 15 an assembly of the Irish nobility was held
at Dublin. Its consent was asked to the bargain proposed by
the King, but its members professed themselves in-
Nov. 13.
Irish nobility competent to make a money grant without consulting
consulted. ^gjj. neighbours, and the meeting was therefore
prorogued until April, when the bishops and peers of which it
was composed might be reinforced by a body of commissioners
selected by some kind of irregular election in the counties. 3
During the interval, Falkland's mind assumed every hue of
1 In view of Wentworth's subsequent proceedings in Connaught, the
following extract from a letter from London is worth reading, as showing
that the landowners of that province had every reason to understand the
question as settled in their favour. " My Lord Chifchester] hath writ to
the Duke concerning the business of the Connaught surrenders, and till he
heareth from him he forbeareth to give answer to your letters. The 22nd
of the last month, amongst other Irish business, the Commissioners attending
the Lords of the Council, the Connaught surrenders were spoken of, and how
they were in fear of a plantation. The Lords so much declared themselves
against a plantation that, though they did not absolutely orHer it at the
Board, yet they gave commandment to Mr. Meautys that there waited, to
keep a remembrance that they were of opinion and held it fit that his
Majesty would be pleased to signify his pleasure to the Deputy, that in
case they wanted a due form, either in surrendering, passing, or enrolling
their patents in due time, that some should be sent hither out of that
province authorised, who should bring one of their patents with him, if all
keep but one form, which shall be viewed by the King's learned counsel,
from whom they should receive a form of passing all the rest ; and thai
there should be one easy and certain rate set down what every one should
pay for passing them anew." J. W. to Falkland, Dec. 4, 1624, Add.
MSS. 3827, fol. 45.
2 Original draft of the Graces. Sept. 22, 1626, S. P. Ireland.
' Diary of the Assembly, ibid.
1627 A MUTINOUS ARMY. 15
querulous despair. Everyone in Ireland was taking his own
Falkland in course without regard for the authority of the Lord
despair. Deputy. The example of Waterford had encouraged
the other towns of the South to elect recusant mayors. The
soldiers were in a state of mutiny for want of money. The
counties refused to keep the troops any longer. The English
settlers were as recalcitrant as the men of Irish birth. In
Fermanagh the new settlers declared that, rather than continue
to keep the 50 soldiers who had been cessed upon them, they
would throw up their estates and leave the country. "If,"
wrote the Lord Deputy, " any violence should break out there
(and it is not unlikely) and amongst the English, as they seem
to menace, what could contain the Irish counties ? "
From Antrim came the same tale of resistance. The
plantation there, according to the report of the principal gentle-
men of the county, was only in its infancy. Their tenants were
for the most part strangers of British birth, who would rather
leave their lands than undergo such heavy burdens. 1 In various
parts of the country wood-kerne were robbing and committing
outrages in scattered bands. The Lord Deputy was unable to
disperse them because he had no money with which to pay the
officer whom he had selected to command the troops destined
for the service against them. 2 Falkland, no doubt, had fallen
on evil times. It was not he who had made Ireland what it was.
Yet it was unfortunate that in such a crisis a man so utterly
without resource should have been at the head of the Irish
Government.
The day appointed for the meeting of the Assembly in its
new shape was April 19. Before the opening of the proceedings
April 19. the Lord Deputy attended Christ Church in state.
Bishop The serm on was preached by Downham, the Bishop
Uownham s
sermon. o f Derry. He chose for his text the words out of
the song of Zacharias : " That we, being delivered out of the
1 Falkland to the English Council, Oct. 15, Nov. 10, 1626. The in-
habitants of Fermanagh to Falkland, Nov. (?), 1626. The Earl of Antrim
and the Justices of the Peace of Antrim to Falkland, Feb. 2, 1627, S. P.
Ire 'and.
* Falkland to the English Council, Feb. 17, 1627, ibid.
$ IRELAND UNDER FALKLAND. CH. LXXV,
hands of our enemies, might serve Him without fear." It soon
appeared who they were whom the bishop regarded as his
enemies. He read out a declaration against toleration to which
all the bishops had recently set their hands. To grant a tolera-
tion was to be accessory to superstition and idolatry, and to
the perdition of the seduced people. It was especially impious
to set religion to sale. When he had finished reading, Down-
ham cried out, in a loud voice. " Let all the people say Amen ! "
From the whole of the assemblage the Amens rose loudly.
When the sermon was over, Falkland told the Bishop that his
words must be sent to the King. Downham, however, stood
his ground, and declared that he was not ashamed of anything
he had said. 1
The declaration of the bishops was certain to dispose an
Assembly, in which the Catholics were largely represented, to
place itself in opposition to the wishes of the Govern-
1 he rein- r l l
forced AS- mcnL The Assembly, in fact, at once replied by a
sembly re- ., . . , . _ ,,
fuses a con- refusal to contribute to the army, and, though Falk-
lon ' land kept it together for some days, he found it im-
possible to move it from the position which it had taken up.
The reason openly given for this refusal was the poverty of the
country ; but Falkland gathered from words which had been
let fall by some of the Lords of the Pale, that the real object
of their desires was to substitute a militia commanded by them-
.Mayz. selves for a standing army. On May 2 he dismissed
con* t?hed ity l ^ e re P resentat i ve members of the Assembly, retaining
separately, the nobles for a. few days longer in the vain hope
that they would be more submissive. Their reply was that they
had given all that they could, and that they would indict the
sheriffs, on a charge of treason, if they levied cess for the pay-
ment of the soldiers. In future, it was said, householders
will ' shut up their doors,' and the soldiers may force them
and take what they list, but give to them with their 'own
goodwill they will not.' Under these circumstances the at-
tempt to conciliate the nobility was necessarily abandoned.
Falkland wrote, as he had often written before, that unless
1 Judgment of the Arclibiahops and Bishops, S. P. Ireland.
1627 THE AMENDED GRACES. if
money were sent from England, it would be impossible to
govern Ireland. 1
On May T 2 a letter arrived from the English Privy Council
showing Falkland a way out of the difficulty. He was to inform
May 12. the Irish that their opinion was not asked on the
The Irish question whether the new army was to be maintained,
ordered to > '
pay- or whether the requisite sum was to be levied in Ire-
land. All that was required of them was advice as to the most
convenient way of levying the money. Upon this a few of the
Lords of the Pale were summoned before the Council,
levied for a Under stress they either agreed to the levy of a cess,
or at least did not openly reject it ; whilst, on the
other hand, permission was given for the election by the cities
and counties of agents to represent to Charles the
grievances felt in Ireland. Even with this prospect
of obtaining further concessions the Lords of the Pale refused
to take any part in the assessment of the cess. 2
It may be that it was easier to raise an opposition to Falk-
land at Dublin than to contend with the King himself and the
j628. Privy Council at Whitehall. At all events, when the
Contribution a g ents appeared in London in the spring of 1628
agreed to. they gave complete satisfaction to the Government.
They bound Ireland, as far as they were able to bind her, to
provide 4,oooZ. a year for three years, a sum which would be
sufficient to support the army. The payment was to commence
at once, and was to be deducted from the subsidies which
might be granted in the next Parliament.
In return Ireland received the Graces somewhat amplified,
1 Diary of the Assembly. Falkland and Council to the English
Council, April 20, May 3, 9, 1627, >S. P. Ireland. The following extract
from a speech made by Usher on April 30 is worth the consideration of
those who hold that the Irish were not wronged by the plantations.
"We," said the Archbishop, " have brought new planters into the land, but
have left the old inhabitants to shift for themselves, who, being strong of
body, and daily increasing in number, and seeing themselves deprived of
their ancient means of maintenance, which they and their ancestors have
formerly enjoyed, will undoubtedly be ready, when any occasion is offered,
to disturb our quiet."
Diary of the Assembly, 6". .P. Ireland.
VOL. VIII. C
18 IRELAND UNDER FALKLAND. CH. LXXV.
but modified by the omission of the engagement to abstain
from enforcing the weekly fine for non-attendance at
church. The new oath of allegiance, the abandon-
ment of the right to enforce the King's title to land which had
been in private hands for more than sixty years, were both
conceded, and a special promise was given that the landowners
of Connaught should receive in the next Parliament a con-
firmation of their estates, ' to the end the same may never
hereafter be brought into any further question by us, our heirs,
and successors.' l
November 3 was fixed as the day on which the promised
Parliament was to meet, and the writs for the elections were
actually issued by Falkland. 2 The English Council,
Parliament however, reminded him that Poyning's law imposed
16 ' upon them the task of approving of all Bills to be
submitted to the Houses in Dublin, and that he had not left
them time to give the necessary attention to the
it is counter- business. Though some at least of the elections had
already taken place, 3 Falkland was obliged to an-
nounce that he had acted beyond his powers, and to withdraw
the writs which he had ijsued. 4
There is no reason to suppose that anything more than a
brief delay was intended. 5 In the spring of 1629, however, the
1 The King to Falkland with instructions enclosed, May 24, 1628,
S. P. Ireland.
4 Falkland to the King, July 29, ibid.
s At Dublin, the election took place on Oct. 7. The Protestant can-
didates had about I,ooo votes, the Catholic about 1,400, ' most very poor
men, as porters, &c.' Sir J. Ware's Diary, Croivcombe Court MSS.
1 Falkland and the Council to the F.nglish Council, Sept. 8, S. P. Ireland.
* Most writers charge the King with deliberately breaking his promise
to summon a Parliament. The correspondence in the State Papers war-
rants a different conclusion. On Aug. 15 the English Council wrote to
Conway that the time allowed them was too short to correspond with the
Deputv on difficulties which might arise in the preparation of the Bills
They therefore did not think Parliament could meet in November. ' If
his Majesty," they went on to say, "do continue his purpose to have it
called any time the next winter, we hold it very necessary that we should
receive speedy direction to appoint a Committee of some intelligent men
of the courses of that kingdom to consider of all such things as will be
1629 A PARLIAMENT POSTPONED. 19
English Council was anxiously smoothing away difficulties
before the approaching session at Westminster, and it is no
matter of surprise that, when that session came to an untimely
end, Charles should have been in no mood to encounter ano-
ther Parliament at Dublin. The very name of a Parliament
must have brought before his eyes a vision of riot and confu-
sion, of false charges shouted out against his faithful ministers,
and of a Speaker held down by violence in the chair. Unfor-
tunate as the delay may have been, it is surely unnecessary to
seek further for the motives of those who caused it.
Not that causes were wanting to make Charles hesitate to
follow on the path on which he had entered. The Catholic
March. priests construed the concessions already made as
whh C the ies an acknowledgment of weakness. In Monaghan
Catholics. they invaded the churches, drove away the Protestant
incumbents, and celebrated mass at the re-established altars.
necessary to be resolved of for the preparation of a Parliament then, and
they to make report unto us of their conclusions ; . . . and we hold it
further requisite that his Majesty would be pleased to direct us to write to
the Deputy and Council there concerning his gracious pleasure of holding
the Parliament, for that we doubt that they in that kingdom begin to grow
into some diffidence of the continuance of his Majesty's intention in that
behalf, having heard nothing of it since the going over of the agents." On
the 2ist, Conway answered that the King was satisfied with their statement,
and ordered them to write to the Deputy and Council in Ireland, 'to assure
them of his Majesty's constant resolution to have a Parliament called and
holden there as soon as the needful forms and preparations for that assembly
will admit, which your Lordships may intimate are already in hand and
shall be prosecuted with all fitting expedition.' On the 25th the Council
wrote accordingly, and their letter was received by Falkland on Sept. 5.
The next day the Deputy, with the advice of his Council, resolved that the
elections should nevertheless proceed, proposing to adjourn Parliament
when it met. Meanwhile, on Sept. 9, a committee o f lawyers in London
certified the English Council that an Irish Parliament could not even be
summoned till the Bills to be laid before it had been approved under the
Great Seal of England. This, I suppose, settled the matter, and the sum-
mons must have been rescinded on the intimation of this opinion. There
is nothing here showing any underhand desire of the King to posipone the
meeting of Parliament. Why the postponement lasted so long is merely a
matter of conjecture, and the explanation given al ove seems to be suffi-
ciently reasonable to make it unnecessary to resort to the idea of deceit.
C 2
20 IRELAND UNDER FALKLAND. CH. LXXV.
In Dublin buildings were erected as a monastery for the friars,
and there too mass was attended openly by large crowds.
Nor was the internal harmony of the Irish Government
itself such as to fit it for the delicate task of meeting Parlia-
ment. The Lord Deputy, supported by the majority
Dissensions . . _, ., , . ,. c ,
in the Irish of the Council, was engaged in bitter strife with a
Council. minority, amongst the members of which the Lord
Chancellor, Lord Loftus of Ely, and Sir Francis Annesley,
afterwards notorious as Lord Mountnorris, were the two most
conspicuous. It was believed that this minority to some ex-
tent sympathised with the Irish nobility and gentry in their
complaints against the Government, and after the dissolution
l627> of the Assembly, which met at Dublin in 1627, de-
Charges finite charges were brought against the Chancellor,
agamst the probably at Falkland's instigation, in which he was
accused not only of malversation in his office, but of
giving encouragement to the malcontents to refuse supplies
to the King. In the summer of 1628 the case against him was
heard in London. His answers to some of the charges were
considered to be sufficient, and he was allowed to return to
Dublin in the full exercise of the authority of his office, pend-
ing further inquiry into the remainder. The result was regarded
as a triumph by Loftus, who followed it up by asking leave
to prosecute in the Star Chamber the persons who had brought
unfounded accusations against him. 1
.If Falkland was to hold his own at Dublin, it behoved him
to catch the eye of his sovereign by some act of vigour, and
there could be little doubt that the blow, if a blow there was to
be, would fall on the native Irish. From the beginning of his
administration, Falkland had been anxious not merely to carry
out the plantations which had been handed down to him by
his predecessor, but to set on foot new ones of his own. As
The Byrnes early as in 1623 he had cast his eye upon a district
of.Wickiow. amon g S t the Wicklovv mountains, inhabited by the
sept of the Byrnes. In bypast time this sept had been noted
1 Charges against the Lord Chancellor, with his answers, June 2.
The Lord Chancellor to Conway, Aug. 11, 1628, S. P. Ireland. Pro-
ceedings of the Council, July 7, ibid.
l62j THE BYRNES OF WICK LOW. i\
for its turbulence. In the last years of Elizabeth, when all
England was in confusion, Phelim Byrne, who was now the chief
of the sept, with others of his relatives and dependents, had
been guilty of an act of unusual atrocity. Having tracked Sir
Piers Fitzgerald to a house in which he had taken refuge with
his wife and daughter, they had set fire to the thatch and had
burnt the whole party alive. 1 Since the accession of James,
however, Phelim had settled down to a regular life, and had
endeavoured to gain credit in Dublin for keeping some kind
of order amongst his wild neighbours.
A district such as that of the Byrnes was certain to attract
the notice of Falkland, who had placed himself in the hands
of men such as Sir William Parsons, the Master of
Falkland \
wishes to the new Court of Wards, who combined a theoreti-
make a plan- ,.,... . . ... ,
ration in cal belief in the virtues of the plantation system
with a shrewd regard for his own interest. In
1623, therefore, Falkland proposed to set up a plantation in
Wicklow. Much to his surprise, he found that his scheme
found no countenance in England. The Commissioners for
Irish Causes, who had been appointed to give advice to the
English Privy Council, reported that, however excellent the
plantation system was, it had been much abused by persons
who had got large estates into their possession without fulfil-
ling the obligations under which they had come. They there-
fore recommended that the Lord Deputy should content him-
self with breaking up the dependency of the people on their
chiefs, and should dispose of the lands amongst the natives
themselves at profitable rents. 2
Two years later, Falkland returned to the charge. He now
announced that he had discovered a dangerous conspiracy, in
which the Byrnes were concerned, together with the Butlers,
1 Deposition of W. Eustace. Gilbert's Hist, of the Irish Confederation,
ii. 205.
- Falkland to the English Council, May 3. The Commissioners for
Irish affairs to the English Council, July, 1623, Irish Cal. v. 1019, 1058.
The Commissioners were not, as Mr. Prendergast supposes (Pr--f. to Irish
Cal. v.), 'a Committee of the Privy Council,' but a consultative body
outside it.
22 IRELAND UNDER FALKLAND. CH. LXXV.
the Cavenaghs, and the Tooles. Two of Phelim's sons were
accused of participation in it. The Lord Deputy
March 25. declared that the only way of dealing with such men
Falkland . , , j ,
discovers a was to seize their lands and establish a plantation
upon them. 1
Once more the Commissioners for Irish Affairs stood be-
tween the impatient Lord Deputy and his prey. They seem
Falkland is to nave entirely disbelieved the charges which Falk-
"o 'sdl'e'their land hacl hmted at > ancl advised ' as the best course
lands - to reduce that barbarous country to some good
settlement,' that Phelim should receive a grant of all the lands
claimed by him, on condition of making a grant to his six
younger sons of 200 acres apiece, to be held in freehold. He
himself, according to the report, had been ' loyal and of good
desert to the state,' and his sons were 'proper men and civilly
bred.' The time was not seasonable for a new plantation. 2
For a long time Falkland kept silence. He and his sub-
ordinates were, however, much interested in making out a case
against the Byrnes. On August 27, 1628, just after the Lord
Chancellor had returned from England with the honours of
victory, the Lord Deputy wrote a triumphant letter to the King,
1628. announcing that he had now completed his discovery
Falkland 7 ' f tne great conspiracy of which he had for three
thrtheh e as y ears been upon the track. Phelim Byrne and his six
completed sons 3 had been indicted at the Wicklow assizes, and a
his dis-
covery, true bill had been found against them. The father and
five of the sons were lodged in Dublin Castle, and would be tried
the next term. The other son, Hugh, was in London, solicit-
ing favour for his father and his brothers. He was as guilty
as the rest, and should either be sent to Dublin or imprisoned
in England. Let the King grant no pardon to any of the family
before the trial, or give away their estates till the Deputy and
the Irish Council had been consulted. " For," added Falkland
1 Falkland to Conway, March 25, 1625, Irish Ca'. v. 1398.
8 Report of the Commissioners for Irish Affairs. S, l\ Ireland. Un-
dated, Charles I.
3 The report of the Commissioners last mentioned speaks of six younger
sans. Probably one had died since.
1628 THE BYRNES OF WICKLOW. 23
" it is without all peradventure that the well settlement of these
escheats do most importantly concern the settlement of the
future peace and tranquillity of this kingdom in security and
perpetuity with the assured good and advantage of the
Crown." l
To Falkland's intense astonishment, Charles replied that he
had received a petition from the Byrnes complaining of ill-treat-
Oct- 3- rnent, and that he had therefore directed the forma-
af?nwigf- e ti n f a committee of the Irish Privy Council to
tion. investigate the matter with impartiality. 2 When the
names of the committee were read, those of Falkland's greatest
enemies the Lord Chancellor, Sir Francis Annesley, and Sir
Arthur Savage appeared amongst them.
By his answer, the Lord Deputy showed that he regarded
the King's orders not only as the result of an unworthy intrigue,
but as directed entirely against himself. He objected, he said, to a
petition in which his Majesty's deputy was to be ' arraigned in '
his 'proceedings in the discovery and prosecution of traitors by
persons' subordinate to him in his 'government, to the great
blemish of his 'honour and integrity; whilst the persons accused,
and by twelve men of the best consequence in their country-
found guilty, shall be so protected from trial, and against a lawful
verdict, be supposed and suggested still innocent.' On this ground
Falkland begged that the trials might proceed, and execution be
deferred till the King had been fully acquainted with the circum-
stances of the case. " If in the process," he ended by saying,
" it shall appear that my actions and aims in this service have
not been in all circumstances becoming the person I am in the
office I exercise, as full of candidness, moderation, clemency,
uprightness, and integrity as of circumspection, vigilancy,
industry, cost and hazard, my head on the block shall be the
price of my folly and iniquity ; so, on the contrary part, if I be
found upright, that my honour be repaired and an inquisition
made what bad brokers of this or that land have been em-
ployed, and what means they have used to blind authority and
1 Falklnnd to the King, Aug. 27, 1628, S. P. Ireland.
2 The King to Falkland, Oct. 3, 1628, ibid.
24 IRELAND UNDER FALKLAND. CH. LXXV ;
purchase corrupt friendship, to procure favour for so gross and
capital offenders, and to pervert justice ; for I that know what
attempts have been made upon myself can easily divine what
essays may have been made and ways sought elsewhere." l
Whatever might be the truth about the Byrnes Falkland
stands self-condemned. No thought of the possibility of a
miscarriage of justice occurred to him ; no recollection that, if
some members of the committee were his enemies, others were
not, and that one of them at least, Archbishop Usher, might
be trusted to see that the investigation ordered should be honest
and impartial. Falkland's mind was so filled with the sense of
his own offended dignity, that no room was left in it for any
other consideration.
The Commissioners set to work amidst unexampled diffi-
culties. Not only did the Lord Deputy refuse to render any
November assistanc e, but he threw every possible obstacle in
Difficulties their way. As the greater number of available wit-
oftheconv nesses were in close prison in the Castle, they could
not be brought up for examination without Falkland's
permission. That permission he refused to give, and he turned
an equally deaf ear to the requests of Byrne and his sons to be
informed of the precise nature of the crime of which they were
charged. 2 It was enough that he had himself made up his mind
that they were guilty.
The Commissioners had therefore recourse to
1029.
Jan. 20. such evidence as they could derive from persons still
th^intes'tl^ at liberty, and this they forwarded to England with-
out comment of their own. 3
The tale which is to be unravelled from the statements
made before the Commissioners is no doubt one which might
be to some extent modified, if we could hear the other side.
Yet it is hardly possible that any modification could make
it otherwise than revolting. The witnesses upon whose testi-
1 Falkland to the King, Oct. 20, 1628, .S. P. Ireland.
2 Falkland's answer to Brian Byrne's petition, Nov. 8. Falklands.
nnswer to Phelim Byrne's petition, Nov. 12, 1628, ibid.
3 The Committee to the English Privy Council, Jan. 20, 1629, ibid.
I6?9 THE BYRNES OF WICK LOW. 25
mony the Byrnes had been indicted were for the most part
condemned felons, who had saved their lives by offering to give
such evidence as was sought for by persons in authority, 01
who were driven to offer their testimony by threats or even by
torture. One witness against the Byrnes had been placed on
the rack, another had been put naked on a burning gridiron.
Those who had got up the case by such means as these were
Lord Esmond, Sir Henry Bellings, Sir William Parsons, William
Graham, and others who were hungering for a share in the new
plantation. One witness, Hugh Macgarrald, deposed 'that he
was apprehended by William Graham, the Provost Marshal, who
kept him seven days in his custody, tied with a hand-lock, and
two several times the said Graham threatened to hang the ex-
aminate if he would not do service against Phelim MacPheagh ; l
one time sending for a ladder, and another time showing him
a tree whereon he would hang -him, and the ropes or withs ;
but the examinate, making protestation of having no matter to
lay to the said Phelim's charge, did choose rather to suffer than
to impeach him without a cause.' Another witness, Dermot
O'Toole, deposed that since his committal ' he hath been
solicited by Sir Henry Bellings to do service against Phelim
MacPheagh and his sons in accusing them, . . . with promises
that in recompense thereof he should be enlarged and have his
own pardon, and if the examinate did not yield to do such ser-
vice, that he, the examinate, should be hanged.' He deposed also
that 'the said Sir Henry dealt with him in like manner, with the
like promises, for accusing Phelim MacPheagh with the death
of Mr. Pont. All which the examinate denied, being unable to
accuse them thereof.' O'Toole proceeded to tell how Falkland
himself interfered, and ' willed the examinate to choose whether
of the three Provost Marshals he would be hanged by.'
Similar depositions were forthcoming in plenty. The mode
of finding the indictment at the Wicklow assizes was as iniqui-
tous as the mode in which the evidence had been collected.
The foreman of the grand jury was Sir James Fitzgerald, whose
father had been burnt alive in the murderous attack in which
1 i.e. Phelim Byrne.
26 IRELAND UNDER FALKLAND. CH. LXXV.
Phelim Byrne had been concerned. Another juryman was Sir
Henry Bellings, who had been one of his chief accusers, and
the remainder were in some way or another connected with
the men who coveted the lands occupied by the Byrnes, whilst
the greater part of them were legally disqualified from serving
on a grand jury at all. 1
The one man who could see nothing in all this calling for
inquiry was Falkland. It is most unlikely that he had de-
liberately given his authority to the execution of an
Falkland's
position unjust sentence. He had rather been a tool in the
hands of men who had made use of him for their
own purposes. In the mind of a Lord Deputy there must
always have been a latent presumption that any given Irishman
was likely to have been guilty of conspiracy against the Govern-
ment, as well as a strong suspicion that his followers and kins-
men were disinclined to tell tales against him unless they were
driven by threats and tortures to tell the truth. Even with
men like Sir Henry Bellings the wish to prove the Byrnes
traitors, for the sake of their lands, was probably father of a
decided conviction that they actually were so. What was
specially reprehensible in Falkland was his utter inability to
perceive that the evil system which surrounded him fell in any
Falkland's wa y short of ideal justice. It was a high indignity,
apology. ne had lately written to the King, that his conduct
should be examined by a commission, whilst the trial of traitors
was suspended after they had been found to be malefactors by
the testimony of sixteen loyal men impannelled legally. 2
In consequence of the inquiry held at Dublin the Byrnes
were set at liberty. 3 After this it was impossible to allow Falk-
land to remain longer in Ireland. 4 In January, the Earl of
1 The case of the O'Byrnes of Wicklow, Gilbert's Hist, of the Irish
Confederation, ii. 167.
* Falkland to the King, Dec. 8, 1628, Gilbert, ii. 210.
3 Part of their lands is said to have remained in the hands of Sir W.
Parsons. Carte's Orntond, i. 27.
4 The strongest point in Falkland's favour is that a letter taking his
part, and written by the majority of the Irish Council, bears the signatvre
of Usher, who was one of the Commissioners. The writers refer the King
1029 FALKLAND RECALLED. 27
Danby was named as his successor. Danby, however, was not
very willing to engage again in the service of the State, and on
August 10, 1629, the Lord Deputy was ordered to
Falkland's hand over his authority to the Lords Justices, on
the decent pretext that the King needed his advice
at home. 1
The Lords Justices were the Lord Chancellor and Richard
Boyle, Earl of Cork, who respectively represented the two
The Lords factions into which the Irish Council had been divided
justices. during the last years of Falkland's office. So bitterly
hostile were they to one another, that Charles thought it well
to accompany their appointment with a message charging them
to lay aside all personal rivalry in regard for the public service. 2
Such a combination did not promise much amendment in
the conduct of the Irish government The Lords Justices in-
deed were not entirely idle. They reduced the army, and were
thus able to spread over four years the contribution which had
been granted for three. They also proceeded vigorously against
the convents and the open celebration of the mass in Dublin.
The friars and nuns were driven out, and their houses seized
for the King's use.
On May n, 1630, about 200 lords and gentlemen were
to the information which he had received at the beginning of Falkland's
government concerning the turbulence of the district of the Byrnes.
" This," they proceed to say, "being at that time the declaration of the
State, moved your Deputy being a siranger to have a wary aspect upon
those people for the common peace, which he hath carefully performed."
When a Spanish invasion was threatened, several persons were examined,
and it was discovered that Phelim had entered into a combination for
raising a commotion, and that a justice of the peace haa been murdered
in consequence, before which they had never heard of any displeasure of
the Deputy's against Phelim. They then expressed their belief that he had
no aim except ' the reducement ' of Phelim's country ' to the conformity of
other civil parts.' The Irish Council to the King, April 28, 1629, S. P.
Ireland. The last quoted clause probably hits the mark. The sense of
justice is often overpowered in well-intentioned persons by an ill-regulated
sense of public duty. There was afterwards an inquiry in England, of
which few particulars have reached us.
1 The King to Falkland, Aug. 10, 1629, S. P. Ireland.
4 The King to Wilmot, Aug. 5, ibid.
28 IRELAND UNDER FALKLAND. CH. LXXV.
summoned to the council-table, and were asked whether they
wished to have a Parliament or not. All, with the single ex-
1630. ception of Lord Gormanston, answered in the affir-
May ii. mative. It was then settled that it should meet in
A Parlia-
ment to be November. 1 When, however, November arrived, no
summoned.
attempt was made to carry out this agreement.
The day, however, at last arrived when a Parliament must
be faced. At Christmas, 1632, the contribution
jan.^12. would come to an end. In the preceding January *
De n puty L an- Charles announced that he had chosen a new Lord
Deputy. Wentworth was entrusted with the task of
bringing Ireland to order, though more than a year was to pass
before he arrived at Dublin to take up the duties of his office.
1 Sir J. Ware's Diary, Crowcombe Court MSS.
2 The King to the Lords Justices, Jan. 12, 1632, Straff. Letters, i. 63.
CHAPTER LXXVI.
WENTWORTH IN IRELAND.
THE new Lord Deputy had already shown himself to be pos-
sessed of some of the highest qualifications of a ruler. He had
, 6 , 2 a rapid intelligence, a firm will, and a fixed resolution
Tan. 12 to allow no private interests to stand in the way of
Went worths
quaiifica- the interests of the State. In his correspondence
government with Laud this resolution was expressed by the word
>f Ireland. , t h orou gh.' There was to be thorough earnest-
ness, thorough self-abnegation in the service of the State,
thorough activity, too, of proceeding against those who opposed
their own inactivity or greed to the just requirements of the
Government. Such a man could hardly seek less than abso-
lute power. Every evil which he connected with Parliamentary
or official independence in England would return upon him
The Irish w i tn redoubled force in Ireland. Privy councillors
officials. anc j O ffi cer s of various kinds had been long accus-
tomed to range themselves in opposing factions, and too many
of them regarded their posts as property to be used for the
best advantage, and would turn sharply upon the man who
required from them the zealous activity which he himself dis-
played. Nor was it possible in Ireland to fall back upon
The Irish Parliament as a controlling force. In England the
Parliament. vo i ce o f Parliament was coming to be more than
ever the voice of an united nation. In Ireland there was no
nation to represent. There might be members elected by the
English colonists, and members elected by the Irish population:
but there was no common feeling, no possibility of combining
30 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVI.
dissimilar elements so as to form a basis of authority. What
Ireland needed was a government like that of India in the
present day, supporting itself on an irresistible army and guided
by statesmanlike intelligence.. It was unfortunate that in their
honourable anxiety to raise Ireland to the level of England,
English statesmen had thrust upon the country institutions for
which it was manifestly unfit. Parliaments divided into two
nearly equal factions, with scarcely a point in common, juries
delivering verdicts from fear or favour, could never give real
strength to a Government. Wentworth did not respect these
institutions. He believed himself capable of doing
syftemof s more for Ireland than Irishmen themselves could
ent * do. Unhappily, his very intellectual superiority led
him to think very much of doing the thing that was right and
profitable, and very little of the morality of the means which he
took to accomplish his ends. ' If Parliaments or juries objected
to give effect to his schemes, their resistance was to be overcome
by threats, persuasion, or cajolery. He had come to regard all
constitutional restraints as mere impediments to honest action.
" I know no reason then," he subsequently wrote to Laud,
after he had been a few months in Ireland, " but you may as
well rule the common lawyers in England as I, poor beagle,
do here ; and yet that I do, and will do, in all that concerns
my master's service, at the peril of my head. I am confident
that the King, being pleased to set himself in the business, is
1 I do not know whether Wentworth was a student of Machiavelli.
But there is much in his conduct in Ireland which reminds us of The
Prina, not only in hi.s recognition that good government is the firmest
support of authority, but in particular acts. The settlement of Connaught,
for instance, is the translation into action of Machiavelli's words, cap. iii.
" L' altro miglior remedio e mandare colonie in uno o in duoi luoghi, che
siano quasi le chiavi di quello Stato ; perche e necessario o far questo, o
tenervi assai gente d' arme e fanterie. Nelle colonie non spende molto il
Principe, e senza sua spesa, o poca, ve le manda e tiene ; e solamente
offende coloro a chi toglie il campi e le case per darle a nuovi abitatori,
che sono una minima parte di quello Stato." Another of Machiavelli's
maxims was turned against him by CLarles (cap. xix.) : " Di che si pu6
trarre un altro notabile, che li principi debbono le cose di carico metier
sopra d' allri, e le cose di grazia a se medesimi."
1632 WENTWORTH'S SYSTEM. 3t
able by his wisdom and ministers to carry any just and
honpurable action through all imaginary opposition, for real
there can be none ; that to start aside for such panic fears as
a Prynne or an Eliot shall set up, were the meanest folly in the
whole world ; that, the debts of the Crown taken off, you may
govern as you please." l Nor was it only with lawyers and
Parliaments that he was ready to deal in this high-handed
fashion. In his impatience of ignorant obstructiveness, he shut
his eyes to the necessity of respecting the ideas and habits of a
population, and he forgot that multitudes who had no means
of enforcing his attention to their wishes might nevertheless
cling with tenacious pertinacity to their old ways in spite of all
that he could do to lead them in another direction.
In carrying out the enterprise upon which he had em-
barked, the King's name was to Wentworth a tower of strength.
In England he had never scrupled to use it freely, as if
the establishment of the royal authority was identical with the
interests of the State. In Ireland it was far more identical
with them than in England. Only in the King's name could
Wentworth rebuke the elements of disorder and corruption,
could teach idle and selfish officials to labour for the public
good, could snatch public property out of the hand of the
robber, and could contend against the abuses of ages from
which the poor suffered oppression, and the rich and powerful
reaped advantage.
The first necessity of a Government thus situated was to
possess an army upon which it could thoroughly depend. Yet
so decided was the feeling in Ireland against a con-
Need of
support for tinuance of the contributions, that it seemed hopeless
the army. . . , , . . ,
to obtain the money needed for the support of the
soldiers without a more open breach of legality than Wentworth
deemed expedient. In the opinion of the Lords Justices
indeed the only course to be pursued was the enforcement of
the shilling fines for recusancy.
1 Wentworth to Laud, Dec. 1633, Stratford Letters, i. 171. The la.it
phrase shou'd l>e interpreted by the ' any just and honourable action '
which precedes.
32 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVI
Wentworth's course was swiftly taken. Having received
from the King the assurance that all business should pass
through his hands, and that all offices should be
February. /-,IT- 1-1 n i r ,
Wears taken conferred by himself, 1 as well as that no fresh ex-
w^nhTo penditure should be incurred without his consent,
pm his end. j^ obtained a letter from Charles ordering present-
ments of recusancy to be generally made, so that, although no
fines were for the present to be levied, a general impression
might be created that payment would be enfo ced at the end of
the year, when the contribution would cease to be available. 2
At the same time he despatched a secret agent to the prin-
cipal Catholics with instructions to lay the blame of the
measure on the Earl of Cork. The new Lord Deputy, he was
to tell them, was their best friend, and it would be well for
them to avert the immediate danger by offering to continue
the contribution for another year. With this alternative be-
fore them the Catholics readily consented to do as Wentworth
wished. The Protestants were too dependent on the Govern-
ment to venture to resist.
It was not that Wentworth differed from Cork in his aims.
If he wished to see Ireland as prosperous as England, he had
no doubt that it was only by the supremacy of English law and
English religion that so desirable a result was to be attained.
"I am not ignorant," he wrote to Cottington, "that what hath
Oct. i. been may happen out again, and how much every
v^wTfthe >s g 00 ^ Englishman ought, as well in reason of state
situation. as conscience, to desire that kingdom were well re-
duced to conformity of religion with us here, as indeed shut-
ting up the postern gate, hitherto open to many a dangerous
inconvenience and mischief." 3 He had, however, a clear in-
sight into at least some of the difficulties in his way. He knew
that English supremacy could not root itself in Ireland by
means- of an irritating persecution conducted by men who had
nriched themselves by expropriating native landowners. Of that
1 Wentworth's Propositions, Feb. 17, 1632, Sii-afford Letters, i. 65.
5 The J King to the Lords Justices, Ajifil 14, 1632, ibid. i. 71.
* Wentworth to Cotiington, Oct. 4, 1632, ibid. i. 74.
1632 THE EARL OF CORK. 33
evil class which, under a display of Protestant zeal, cloaked its
eagerness to use the forms of the law to add field to field at the
expense of the Celtic population, Richard Boyle, the Great
Earl of Cork, as he was frequently styled, was the most con-
The Great spicuous. He had come over to Ireland as an
Earl of Cork, adventurer in 1588. with twenty-seven pounds in his
pocket. He began his operations by buying up for a trifle
valuable claims, which those who held them did not know
how to turn to account. He contrived to gain the favour of
men in authority, and, unless he is much maligned, he used his
opportunities unscrupulously. Before the end of the sixteenth '
century he held more land than anyone else in Ireland. Yet he
knew how to use to the best advantage the wealth which he
had unscrupulously acquired. His estates were well cultivated.
Buildings of all kinds houses, churches, and schools rose
upon them. 1 In the recent distractions he had taken the side
of Falkland against the Lord Chancellor and Annesley. He
could see no harm in the treatment to which the Byrnes had
been subjected, and no danger in the exasperation which would
ensue if a whole population were fined for refusing to abandon
its religion.
A prosperous man of the world, imagining that a nation can
be governed in accordance with the rules on which a pettifogging
lawyer conducted business, was just the personage with whom
Wentworth was certain to come into collision. The new Deputy
was unwilling to come to a final decision on the best mode of
reducing Ireland to order till he had had an opportunity of
seeing the country with his own eyes. He knew at least that
Cork's empiric remedies were no remedies at all. "My lord,"
Wentworth he wrote of the reduction of Ireland to conformity
see a withhis with England, in continuing his letter to Cottington ;
own eyes. j t j s a g reat business, hath many a root lying deep,
and far within the ground, which would be first thoroughly
opened before we judge what height it may shoot up into,
when it shall feel itself once struck at, to be loosened and
pulled up. Nor, at this distance can I advise it should be
1 The character of the Earl is dissected, with quotations from original
documents, in Wright's Histoiy of Ireland, i. 618.
VOL. VIII. D
34 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVl.
at all attempted, until the payment for the King's army be else-
where and surelier settled, than either upon the voluntary gift
of the subjects or upon the casual income of the twelve pence
a Sunday. Before this fruit grows ripe for gathering, the army
must not live precario, fetching in every morsel of bread upon
their swords' points. Nor will I so far ground myself with an
implicit faith upon the all-foreseeing providences of the Eail of
Cork, as to receive the contrary opinion from him in verbo
tnagistri, when I am sure that if such a rush as this should set
that kingdom in pieces again, I must be the man that am like
to bear the heat of the day, and to be also accountable for the
success, not he. Elame me not then, when it concerns me so
nearly, both in honour and safety, if I had much rather desire
to hold it in suspense, and to be at liberty upon the place to
make my own election, than thus be closed up by the choice
and admission of strangers, whom I know not how they stand
affected either to me or the King's service." l
Wentworth took good care to let the Irish officials know
that he intended to be their master, not, as Falkland had
Oct. 15. been, their servant. On October 15 he reminded the
juTti^T 15 Lord Justices, in a sharp letter, that they had been
warned. ordered by the King six months before to abstain
from the bestowal of offices, and that they had not only
neglected the orders given, but had kept secret the letter in
which they were contained. " Pardon me, my lords," he wrote,
" if in the discharge of my own duty I be transported beyond my
natural modesty and moderation, and the respects I personally
bear yo'ir lordships, plainly to let you know I shall not connive
at such a presumption in you, thus to evacuate my master's
directions, nor contain myself in silence, seeing them before
my face so slighted, or at least laid aside, it seems, very little
regarded." 2
1633. Wentworth had thus a full year in which to take
July 23. j^g measures jr or some unexplained reason he did
Wentwortn
in Dublin, not arrive in Ireland till the summer of 1633. On
July 23 he entered Dublin. He soon found that he would
1 Wentworth to Cottington, Or.t I, 1632, Strafford letters, i. 74.
J Wentworth to ths Lords Justices, Oct. 15, 1632, S. P. /relatui.
1633 WENTWORTH'S FIRST STEPS. 35
have to create his instruments of government himself. " I find
them in this place," he wrote, " a company of men the most
intent upon their own ends that ever I met with, and so as
those speed, they consider other things at a very great "dis-
tance." The army was one 'rather in name than in deed,
whether it was considered in numbers, in weapons, or in disci-
pline.' He was almost frightened to see the work before him.
'Yet," he encouraged himself by saying at the end, "you shall
see I will not meanly desert the duties I owe to my master and
myself. Howbeit, without the arm of his Majesty's counsel
and support, it is impossible for me to go through with this
work." 1 Whatever support the King's name might give him
he might freely enjoy. For counsel he must look to himself
alone.
The Deputy's first work was to obtain a prolongation of the
Contribution for yet another year. By dexterously mingling
hopes of an approaching Parliament with a declara-
but1onpro- tion of his resolution to take the money by force if
he could not have it in any other way, he obtained
the assent first of the Council and then of the Catholic land-
owners." 2
The ends which Wentworth proposed to himself were in
the highest degree honourable to his character. He saw that
Wentwoith's l ^ e mass f ^e Irish population were ignorant and
plans. poverty-stricken, liable to be led astray by their
priests, and imposed upon by their lords. He wished to raise
them to material prosperity, to make them laborious and con-
tented. He wished, too, to give them knowledge and educa-
tion, that they might be, as Englishmen were, loyal Protestant
subjects of the King. Force and policy must combine to the'
1 Wentworth to Portland, Aug. 3, 1633, 5". P. Ireland, \. 96.
2 Wentwonh to Coke, Aug. 3, 1633, Stratford Letters, i. 97. Frota
the account given here of the Council meeting, it is evident that the
Deputy had the support of the party which had hitherto been opposed to
Falkland. Sir Adam Loftus, the Chancellor's son, first proposed the con-
tinuance of the contribution. " The Lord Chancellor and the Lord
Mountnorris showed themselves throughout very ready to give it all fur-
therance." On '.he other hand, Cork and Parsons are noted as behaving
in an unsatisfactory way.
D 2
36 WENTWOkTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVI.
desired end. The natives must be taught to feel their own
weakness, and to acknowledge that the stern discipline imposed
upon them was for their advantage. Trade and agriculture
would flourish, and those who were benefited by the prosperity
which followed vyould hardly look back with longing eyes to
the days of wretchedness which had for ever passed away.
The sixteenth century had bequeathed to the seventeenth
an overweening confidence in the power of government. In
Hisconfi- England especially the sovereigns had done much
powTr'of 1116 to e ff ect a change in the religion and in the social
government, condition of the country, and they seemed to have
done much more than they really did. It is easy for us,
standing at a distance, to take account of the national craving
for independence of foreign dictation which drove unwilling
Catholics to support a Protestant Government. It was not
then easy to trace out the influence of other causes for the
success of Elizabeth than those which she drew from her own
high spirit and enlightened judgment. So much had been
done by governmental energy and by governmental adroitness
that everything seemed possible to energy and adroitness.
Just as Bacon under-estimated the mystery of material nature
when he joyously declared himself to have taken all knowledge
for his province, -so did Wentworth under-estimate the mystery
of human nature when he thought that a few years would
enable him to transform ignorance into knowledge and distrust
into fidelity. It was true that he was about to accomplish
marvels ; but he could not accomplish miracles. Nothing
short of a miracle would suddenly transform the Irish Protes-
tant Church into a true nursing-mother of the Celtic population
in the midst of which it was encamped, or would suddenly
transform the English colonists into beneficent diffusers of light
and civilisation. The Irish only knew the foreign clergy as
greedy collectors of tithes, and the foreign settlers as greedy
encroachers upon land. Nor had Wentworth himself the
qualities which enable men to conciliate opposition. Careless
of popularity and disdaining the arts by which it is acquired,
he would not condescend to explain his intentions even to those
whom he most wished to benefit. He could not understand
1633 THE IRISH COUNCIL. 37
why it was that he was not loved. He left his actions to speak
for themselves, and wondered that they were so often misinter-
preted.
The Deputy lost no time in bringing his little army to a
complete state of efficiency. He knew that punctual pay was
the first requisite for the restoration of discipline, and
November. *
Discipline of by establishing a strict system of payment he soon
rmy ' put an end to the loose system by which the soldier
had been a terror to the civil population and a broken reed in
the hands of authority. The officers were startled to find that
the new Lord Deputy, who, unlike his predecessors, was General
of the army as well as Governor of the State, actually expected
them to attend to their duties. 1 His own troop of horse soon
became a model for the rest of the army.
Wentworth's devouring zeal for the public service found
little echo in the Council. The Chancellor, and Anneslcy,
The Privy now Lord Mountnorris, gave him some support ;
Council. b ut their support was at best lukewarm, and others
looked askance upon the obtrusive Englishman who could not
let matters alone which had been let alone so long. By degrees
he gathered round him a few friends upon whom he could
depend. He brought Wandesford from Yorkshire to be Master
of the Rolls. He introduced Radcliffe, another Yorkshireman,
into the Council. Loyal and devoted as they were, such men
would serve as instruments for his policy ; but they could not
warn him against his errors.
Wistfully he looked across the sea for support. Although
the King was ready to stand by him, and to trust him with such
Wentworth's powers as had never been entrusted to any former
wifh'the Deputy, he found it hard to keep the promise which
Kin s- he had given to leave all appointments in the Deputy's
hands. Holland and the Queen were always pestering him
with applications for unsuitable grants in favour of unsuitable
persons, and he shrank from saying No. It cost Wentworth a
hard struggle to defend from the greed of the English courtiers
the revenue present and prospective upon which he counted.
1 \Vcntwottli to Cottington, Nov. 4, Straffbrd Letters, i. 144,
38 WENTWORTH IK IRELAND. CH. LXXVI.
The very army was tampered with to gratify suitors at Whitehall,
and even when Charles had no intention of unsettling Went-
worth's arrangements in Ireland, he made no difficulty in leaving
him to bear the odium of the refusal. In one of his letters
he mentioned the names of some of the principal men in -his
Court who had asked for favour to be shown to them in Ireland.
"I recommend them all to you," he added, "heartily and
earnestly, but so as may agree with the good of my service and
no otherwise ; yet so too as that I may have thanks ; howsoever
that, if there be anything to be denied, you may do it, and not
I." 1 One case cost Wentworth a severe struggle. Falkland
had died 2 before his successor crossed the sea, and had made
it his dying request to the King to provide for his second son,
Lorenzo Gary, in the Irish army. As long as Wentworth was
Lorenzo by ^is s ^ e Charles properly refused to entrust a
Carys case, company of soldiers to so young a lad. Soon after
Wentworth reached Dublin he discovered that the appointment
had been made without consulting him. He explained to
Charles that the company had been under the command of the
late Lord Deputy, and had been left by him in the utmost dis-
order, and that young Cary was not likely to remedy the mischief.
Besides, he had already appointed a real soldier to the post,
and to force him to cancel the nomination would be evidence
to the world that he was not trusted in England. His remon-
strances were of no avail. Charles insisted that he had passed
his word to Cary, though he assured Wentworth that nothing
of the kind should occur again. 3
Till Wentworth arrived in Ireland little or nothing had
been done to free the seas from pirates, and from privateers
Piracy w ^ were pirates in all but name. On his passage
repressed. across St. George's Channel, he had himself lost
property worth 5<Do/. He found trade at a standstill. A Dutch
vessel had been rifled and set on fire within sight of Dublin
1 The King to Wentworth, Oct. 26, 1633, Strafford Letters, i. 140.
2 He fell from a ladder in the park at Theobald's and broke his leg.
He died after the limb had been amputated. His eldest son Lucius had
been dismissed from the command of a company by the Lords Justices.
* Stratford Letters, i. 128, 138, 142, 207, 2-'8.
1 633 THE IRISH FLAX-CULTURE. 39
Castle. His anger was especially roused by such a defiance of
his authority. "The loss and misery of this," he wrote, "is not
so great as the scorn that such a picking villain as this should
dare to do these insolences in the face of that State, and to pass
away without control." l
The pirates were for the most part subjects of the King
of Spain ; but though Wentworth was anxious to be on good
terms with Spain, he did not, for that reason, deal leniently
with Spanish pirates. In a short time he had two ships of his
own to guard the coast. To their command he appointed Sir
Richard Plumleigh, a man after his own heart. Before long,
piracy in the Irish seas was the exception and not the rule.
Hand in hand with the suppression of piracy went the en-
couragement of trade. Wentworth's letters are full of evidence
Trade ^ tne care ^^ which he descended into the minutest
encouraged, details. The humble beginnings of the great flax
culture of the North of Ireland owed their origin to him. He
advanced money from his own pocket towards the carrying
out of a project for manufacturing iron ordnance in the country.
He spent long hours over an attempt to open commercial inter-
course with Spain, and was never in better spirits than when he
fancied that his efforts were likely to be crowned with success.
He was deeply annoyed at the short-sighted eagerness of the
English Government to place restrictions on Irish exportation
for the protection of English manufactures. His notions on
the evil of customs duties were in advance of his generation.
On one occasion he advocated the imposition of a payment
upon brewers on the ground that it might be ' a step towards
an excise, which although it be heathen Greek in England, yet
certainly would be more beneficial to the Crown and less felt
by the subject than where the impositions are laid upon the
foreign vent of commodities inward and outward.'
Exceptional Wentworth's recommendations that the rise of a
ciothand' f doth manufacture in Ireland should be discouraged,
"'^ and that the sole right of importing salt should re-
main in the hands of the Government, stand in startling con-
1 Wentworth to Portland, June 9, 1633, Sir afford Letters, i. 89,
40 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVI,
trast with his other enlightened suggestions, and he intended
them to stand in contrast. It was the indispensable condition
of the reforms which he was meditating, that Ireland should
be perfectly submissive to the English Government. There
are those doubtless who, knowing how ill the English Govern-
ment subsequently acquitted itself of its task, would argue
that it would have been far better if Ireland had been left
to independence, and had worked out her own destinies in
the midst of the strife and confusion which would have been
the inevitable result. Those, however, who approve of Went-
. worth's end can hardly fairly cavil at the means. Till his
healing measures had found acceptance, and as long as the
Irish feeling was still one of distrust if not of exasperation,
some way must be found of sustaining the English dominion
by other means than by the loyal assent of the governed. If
Ireland was to be held in subjection, it was better that she
should submit because Irishmen could not keep meat for winter
use without English salt, or could not cover their nakedness
without English cloth, than because they were subjected to
slaughter and rapine by an English army. Nor was the injury
to any class of the population very great. There were no
flourishing cloth manufactures in existence in Ireland to be
ruined. 1 Their only chance of existence in the future would
be owing to the peace and order which Wentworth was doing
.his best to establish. If here and there some few Irishmen,
who for some local reason might be profitably employed in
making cloth, were forced to seek some other mode of liveli-
hood, the grievance was not a great one in comparison with
the sources of profit which Wentworth was opening up in every
direction. 2 At all events, there is nothing in common between
Wentworth's measures and the selfish legislation of the later
1 Wentworth argued that one reason for allowing wool to be exported
was ' because they have no means here to manufacture it themselves, so as
the commodity would be utterly lost to the growers unless this expedient
be granted.' Wentworth to Coke, Jan. 31, 1634, Stratford Letters, i. 194.
'No doubt Wentworth also argued that the King's customs would benefit,
but this is plainly not his primary reason.
* Wentworth to Portland, Jan. 31, 1634, Stafford Letters, i. 190.
1633 THE IRISH CHURCH. M
English Parliaments. The wool manufacture was to be re-
pressed, not that England might grow rich, but that Ireland
might have peace.
Wentworth knew better than to trust to material prosperity
alone. He looked to the Church to supply the moral and
State of the intellectual force which was to wean the Irish from
church. t h e creed which divided them from most of their
fellow-subjects of English race. The condition of the Irish
Church, when Wentworth landed, was indeed deplorable. Over
a great part of the country tke fabrics of the churches were in
ruins, and the revenues by which the clergy should have been
supported had either disappeared in the tumults of the sixteenth
century, or had been filched by the neighbouring landowners.
There were parts of Ireland in which half a dozen benefices
did not produce enough to furnish a suit of clothes to the
pluralist incumbent. In such a state of things large numbers
of benefices were of necessity heaped upon the head of a single
person, who was often a needy adventurer without a thought
of fulfilling the duties of a position which furnished him with
a miserable pittance, and it was seldom that suitors of this
kind thought of asking for less than three vicarages at a time. 1
The Bishops' courts were in the hands of rapacious lawyers
who exasperated the Irish by their exactions. The peasant
who counted it a sacrilege to bring his children for baptism to
a heretic font, or to hear words of consolation pronounced by
heretic lips over the grave of those whom he loved, was heavily
fined if he ventured to seek the services of a priest of his own
communion, till Wentworth interfered to stop the abuse. The
Bedell at excellent Bedell was no sooner appointed to the
Kiimore. bishoprics of Kilmore and Ardagh than he protested
against the folly of such tyranny. " I do thus account," he
wrote to Laud, " that among all the impediments to the work
Complains of God amongst us, there is not any greater than the
chilrch abuse of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The demonstra-
courts; tj on thereof is plain. The people pierce not into
the inward and true reasons of things : they are sensible in the
purse. Wherefore let us preach never so piously ourselves, so
1 Bramhall to Laud, Aug. 10, 1633, S. F. Ireland.
42 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVI.
long as the officers in our courts do prey upon the people, they
account us no better than publicans, and so much the more
deservedly, because we are called spiritual men and reformed
Christians." Bedell's own chancellor, one Alan Cook, appointed
by his predecessor, and irremovable by himself, was one of the
worst of these harpies. "Among the Irish," he said, " he had
gotten the name of Pouke " the rude original of Shakspere's
gamesome Puck " and indeed they fear him like the fiend
of hell. To his austerity the abandoning of the country by
above a thousand of the inhabitants the last year was more im-
puted than to the hardness of the times." '
No less pertinent was Bedell's complaint of the ignorance
of the Irish language which was almost universal amongst
andofieno- the clergy. How, he asked, could a minister dis-
w"h e ian- the charge his duty who could not speak to his flock in
guage. t h e i r own tongue. It was no wonder that the Catholic
priests, who were at no such disadvantage, gained the hearts of
the people and were superior even in numbers to the Protestant
clergy. 2
If any man could have gained the confidence of Irishmen, it
would have been Bedell. To the pluralists he spoke by example.
His life in He resigned the See of Ardagh that he might not
his diocese. \^ o \^ a second bishopric. At great expense of time
and money he carried on a suit to get rid of his oppressive
chancellor, and when he was unsuccessful in this he never failed
to appear in person in his court, in the hope that he might
shame him into better behaviour by his presence. He worked
hard to acquire the Irish language, and as livings in his gift fell
vacant, he refused to appoint any who had not followed his
example. Prayers were read in Irish in his cathedral, and he
superintended the translation of the Old Testament, that of the
New Testament alone having been hitherto completed.
Bedell's zeal was not without its results. Irish converts
its results, gathered round him, and even Irishmen whom he
was unable to convert loved and reverenced the English stranger
who had given them his heart. But it was not in the nature of
' Bedell to Laud, Aug. 7, 1630, Land's Works, vi. 280.
z Bedell to Usher, Sept. 18, 1630, Burnet's Life of Be Jell, 52.
1 633 THE IRISH CHURCH. 43
things that there should be many Bedells, and there was no
hope of gaining the Irish people on any other condition.
What Wentworth could do, he did. He sternly repressed
the persecuting zeal of the officials. It was useless, he said, to
fine the Catholics for not attending church as long
Wentworth . __ , ,
on Church as there were no churches to go to. 1 He had no
difficulty in tracing the causes of the evil to 'an un-
learned clergy, which have not so much as the outward form of
churchmen to cover themselves with, nor their persons any way
reverenced or protected ; the churches unbuilt ; the parsonage
and vicarage houses utterly ruined ; the people untaught, through
the non-residency of the clergy, occasioned by the unlimited
shameful numbers of spiritual promotions with cure of souls,
which they hold by commendams ; the rites and ceremonies of
the Church run over without all decency of habit, order, or
gravity, in the course of their service ; the possessions of the
Church to a great proportion in lay hands ; the bishops alien-
ing their very principal houses and demesnes to their children,
to strangers, 2 farming out their jurisdiction to mean and unworthy
persons ; the Popish titulars exercising the whilst a foreign juris-
diction much greater than theirs ; the schools which might be a
means to season the youth in virtue and religion either ill-pro-
vided, ill-governed for the most part, or, which is worse, applied
sometimes underhand to the maintenance of Popish school-
masters ; lands given to these charitable uses, and that in a
bountiful proportion, especially by King James of ever-blessed
memory, dissipated, leased forth for little or nothing, concealed,
contrary to all conscience and the excellent purposes of the
founder; the College here, which should be the seminary of
arts and civility in the elder sort, extremely out of order, partly
by means of their statutes, which must be amended, and partly
under the government of a weak provost; all the monies raised
for charitable uses converted to private benefices ; many patron-
ages unjustly and by practice gotten from the Crown.' 3
1 Wentworth to Laud, Dec. 1633, Strafford Letters, i. 171.
- The hurried omission of the conjunction is quite in Went worth's
manner. It frequently occurs in his speech at York.
1 Wentworth to Laud, Jan. 31, 1634, Strafford Letters^ i. 187.
44 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVI.
One of the chief offenders amongst the laity was the Earl
of Cork. VVentworth had long had his eye upon him, and he
rhurch was now able to charge him with appropriating to
t P ake^?rora himself, for a paltry rent of 2o/., the whole of the
Cork. revenues of the bishopric of Lismore which brought
him in i,ooo/. a year. Another sum of ioo/. a year, which should
have been applied to the repairs of the cathedral, went to swell
the Earl's income, and the cathedral was in consequence falling
into ruins. A suit was at once commenced against him in the
Castle Chamber, a court answering to the English Star Cham-
ber, and in the end he was compelled to disgorge thus much of
his ill-gotten wealth, and to submit to a heavy fine. 1
Another dispute between the Deputy and the Earl was of a
more personal character. Lady Cork had lately died, and the
Lady Cork's widower had erected a gorgeous tomb to her memory
tomb. j n j Patrick's. The monument was placed under
the chancel arch, and part of it occupied the space on which
the high altar had formerly stood. As soon as Laud heard of
it, he protested that this was no place for a tomb. Charles was
at first inclined to pass the matter over, but he finally decided
as Laud wished him. The Lord Deputy, nothing loth, ordered
the tomb to be pulled down, and to be re erected in another
part of the church.
Wentworth's ceremonialism did not go very deep. He
was not likely to agitate the Irish Church as the English Church
Church was Dem g agitated by Laud. But he was himself
ceremonies. f onc j o f outward decency and order, and he believed
that the neglect of formalities would stand in the way of the
conversion of the Catholic population. When he arrived in
Ireland he found that one of the Dublin churches had served
his predecessor for a stable, that a second had been converted
into a dwelling-house, and that the choir of a third was used
as a tennis court. The vaults underneath Christ Church were
let out as alehouses and tobacco- shops. In the choir above,
the communion-table, standing in the midst of the congrega-
tion, had become an ordinary seat for maids and apprentices.
1 State of the Bishopric, May 3. 1634, 5. P. Ireland.
1 633 THE IRISH CHURCH. 45
Wentworth orderea the communion-table to be placed at the
east end, as in English cathedrals. 1 He put a stop to the
practice of walking about in the aisles and chattering during
service, and shut up the tobacco-shops below. Further than
this he did not go. He was not so ignorant of the relative
importance of things as to impose the duty of changing the
position of the communion-table upon the country clergy, at
least till the Irish clergy were in a different state from that
in which he found them. The first thing to be done was to
regain the lost property of the Church, so that a single Irish
benefice might once more be worth accepting. The next thing
would be to induce able and zealous ministers to transfer them-
selves to Ireland. When that was accomplished, everything
else which Wentworth desired might be expected to follow.
Wentworth did all that lay in his power to improve the con-
dition of the benefices. From the King he obtained a grant
to the clergy of all impropriations in possession of the Crown,
and efforts, which were successful in some instances, were
made to induce the laity in like case to follow the Royal
example.
For Wentworth the difficulties of the Irish. Church were
only part of the difficulties of bringing the Irish nation under
l634- discipline and order. For some time he had been
forTparlia. 5 m correspondence with the King on the subject of
ment. t ne coming Parliament. That Parliament was in no
sense representative of the Irish population. In the House of
Lords the bishops, reinforced by Englishmen who had received
Irish peerages, could give a majority to the Government ; and
the House of Commons had been so arranged in the preceding
reign as deliberately to falsify the expression of Irish opinion.
Seats had heen given to the merest hamlets, provided that
they were likely to return Englishmen and Protestants. The
session of 1613 had been disgraced by an open fight between
the two factions. Such a body could never serve any of the
1 Sir James Ware in his Diary speaks of this as having been done on
Tune 21, before Wentworth's arrival. Bramhall, however, in his letter of
Aug. 10 (Works, i. Ixxix.), speaks of the abuse as still existing. Perhaps
the order was given but not carried out till Wentworth came.
46 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVI.
purposes for which Parliaments are designed. Wentworth
liked it the better for that. He knew that the two parties
were nearly equal, and that there was a slight majority on
the side of the Protestants, and he believed that by a skilful
mixture of firmness and blandishment he might play the two
parties off against one another, until he had gained from
them the semblance of a national sanction to the decrees which
emanated from his own will.
It was an immense advantage to Wentworth that the Irish
Parliament was debarred by Poyning's law from taking any Bill
His plan for m to consideration which had not previously been
the n pfriit- submitted to the English Privy Council. He was thus
ment. freed from such claims as had been put forward by
the English House of Commons ' to a liberty to offer anything
in their own time and order.' His immediate object was to
gain a grant of subsidies sufficient to support the army for a few
years without the Ccntributions. That breathing time was all he
needed. He never doubted that, when it was over, the King's
revenue would, through his efforts, have become equal to the
expenditure. He now proposed that there should be two
sessions. In the first, supply was to be granted unconditionally.
In the second, such Bills for the benefit of the subject as he
thought it advisable to pass should be converted into law.
The Bills which Wentworth thought it advisable to pass did
not include the whole of the Graces. More especially he in-
tended to omit the confirmation of all estates with
tion about sixty years' title, and the concession to the land-
Graces. owners O f Connaught of those patents which, through
no fault of their own, they had neglected to enrol. As far as
Connaught was concerned, he had a plan of settlement very
different from the confirmation of the rights of the existing
landowners. In the rest of Ireland he had no wish to deal
hardly with those whose titles were defective. But he would
give them security, not by a sweeping measure applicable to the
whole country, but by separate bargains in which each individual
proprietor would have to compound for an indefeasible title by
the payment of a moderate rent to the Crown. Before he left
England he had obtained from the King the appointment of a
i634 AN IRISH PARLIAMENT. 47
Dody of Commissioners authorised to conclude bargains of this
Kind, 1 and he now proposed that, together with the Subsidy Act,
a Bill should be brought in and passed, even in the first session,
giving a Parliamentary confirmation to such arrangements as
these Commissioners might see fit to conclude.
In rejecting these two Graces Wentworth undoubtedly
believed that he Vas doing the best for Ireland as well as for
the King. It was in his eyes the main condition of
which he had good government in the future that the Irish should
be held in subjection till the time came when they
could be raised to a higher stage of civilisation by the educa-
tive influence of a reformed clergy and by the enticements of
material comfort. The scheme itself was hopeless from the
beginning. Its very conception could only have proceeded from
one who was ignorant as most, if not all of his contemporaries
of English blood were ignorant of the persistency with which
a race clings to its ancestral habits and modes of thought In
fact, the very reason which made Wentworth most desirous of
effecting the change would be accepted by a modern statesman
as a' sufficient motive for rejecting it without a moment's hesi-
tation. It was because the condition of the Irish stood in need
of so much improvement that it was cruel as well as unwise to
attempt to destroy their self-respect by hurrying them forcibly
over the stages of progress which separated them from their
English conquerors. Even if Wentworth's policy had been
wiser than it was, it would have been heavily weighted from the
beginning with the broken word of the King. Charles had ex-
pressly promised that the next Parliament should be used to
confirm the landowners' titles in Connaught as well as in the
rest of Ireland. The course taken for the confirmation in indi-
vidual cases might perhaps be regarded as a performance of
that promise with a modification imposed by political necessity.
The course taken with regard to Connaught was a direct breach
of the engagement which had been given.
On July 14, 1634, Parliament met. As Wentworth had
hoped, the Protestants, many of whom were official dependenca
1 Commission, Feb. n, 1632. Lascelles, Liber Mtinerunt Hibernia t
u 135-
48 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVL
on the Government, were in a small majority. He had instruc-
tions to dissolve Parliament at once in case of an un-
Meetfng 4 of expected refusal of supplies, and to levy the revenue
ariiament. ^ e nee( j e( j by ^j s own authority. Nothing was further
from his intentions than to allow any freedom of action to any
one but himself. He heard with indignation that the Catholic
priests had been threatening their flocks with Excommunication
if they gave their votes to a Protestant. , Such a course, he de-
clared, would lead to the division of the country into a Papist
faction and a Protestant faction, a result which, as he naively
added, ' is to be avoided as much as may be, .unless our numbers ,
were the greater.' A sheriff, who 'carried himself mutinously,'
as Wentworth expressed it, at the Dublin election, was fined in
the Castle Chamber, and deprived of his office. A successor
was appointed, and two Protestant members were returned. 1
In the speech with which the Deputy opened the session, he
took care to address his hearers as he wished them to be, not as
they really were. The King, he explained, had done,
Wentuorth's and was doing all that could be done for the benefit
of Ireland. In order that his beneficial rule might
continue, the army must be maintained to give 'comfort and
encouragement to quiet minds in their honest occasions, con-
taining the licentious spirits within the modest bounds of
sobriety.' For this purpose the debts of the Crown, amounting
to 75,ooo/., must be paid off, and the yearly deficit of 2o,ooo/.
filled up. The remedy must be permanent. It was beneath
the dignity of his master to 'come at every year's end, with his
hat in his hand, to entieat' them to be pleased to preserve them-
selves. Then followed words of warning. "Let me advise you,"
said Wentworth, with keen recollections of the events of 1629,
"suffer no poor suspicions or jealousies to vitiate your judg-
ments, much rather become you wise by others' harms. You
cannot be ignorant of the misfortunes these meetings have run
of late years in England ; strike not therefore upon the same
rock of distrust which hath so often shivered them. For what-
ever other accident this mischief may be assigned unto, there
1 Wentwcrth to Coke, June 24. Strajford Letters, i. 269.
1 634 WENTWORTH'S OPENING SPEECH. 49
was nothing else that brought it upon us but the King's just
standing to have the honour of our trust, and our ill-grounded
obstinate fears that would not be secured. This was that spirit
of the air that walked in darkness, abusing both, whereon if
once one beam of light and truth had happily reflected, it had
passed over as clouds without rain, and left the King far better
contented with his people and them much more happy ; albeit
as they are thanks to God and his Majesty the happiest of
the whole world." Finally, there must be no divisions among
them, between Catholic and Protestant, English and Irish.
"Above all, divide not between the interests of the King and
his people, as if there were one being of the King and another
being of his people. This is the most mischievous principle
that can be laid in reason of State, and that which, if you
watch not very well, may the easiliest mislead you. For you
might as well tell me a head might live without a body, or a
body without a head, as that it is possible for a king to be rich
and happy without his people be so likewise, or that a people
can be rich and happy without the king be so also. Most
certain it is that their well-being is individually one and the
same, their interests woven up together with so tender and
close threads as cannot be pulled asunder without a rent in the
commonwealth." '
Some of those who listened to these words would doubtless
look back over 1629 to 162 8, and would ask whether the speaker
Was Went- was the same man as he who had stood up in the
sist r ent C w?th English Parliament to declare that unless they were
himself? secured in their liberties they could not give. Though
it was not Wentworth's habit to defend himself, there can be
little doubt that he would have declared his conduct to be per-
fectly consistent. There was in his eyes all the difference in the
world between England under Buckingham and Ireland under
Wentworth. In the one case the head was at fault. In the
1 Speech, July I5> Strafford Letters, \. n86. As this speech was an
extempore one, it is more likely to reveal Wentworth's real nature. How
permanent his ideas were will be seen by comparing it with the speech at
York, in 1628. Even the quotation, ' Qiti nnjorc tiberfate gratiam qnietis
rcferre solent, ' reappears.
VOL. VIII. E
50 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVI.
other case the body was incapable of appreciating the wisdom
which flowed from the head.
Wentworth's government had all the short-lived merits and
the grave defects of despotism. The slightest attempt to con-
vert constitutional fiction into a reality met with his
July 17.
Parties in most strenuous resistance. The first sitting of the
the HOUS*. c ommons rev ealed the strength of parties. The
Catholics moved to purge the House in plain words, to ex-
clude many of the Protestants on the ground of non-residence
in the constituencies which had elected them. The question
was referred to a committee. The members of the committee
were, however, nominated from the Protestant side by a majority
of eight.
Wentworth struck the iron whilst it was hot. The next
morning, his friend Wandesford moved for six subsidies, a
. . . grant far larger than the Deputy had, a short while
Six subsidies before, thought it possible to obtain. Before the
sitting was at an end they were voted without any
difficulty whatever.
Then, when it was too late, both parties combined to ask
that the Graces might be confirmed. They were told that so
many as were good for them should be passed into law in the
next session. For the present they must content them-
Aug. 2. f j
End of selves with passing a Bill for giving a Parliamentary
title to the awards of the Commissioners for defective
titles. They at once submitted, and the session came to an end.
Wentworth ordered the judges at the summer assizes to
magnify the King's gracious favour in giving his assent to this
Aug. 2i.. Bill, as well as to assure the people of the intention
toVhe 10 " " 5 f tne Government to proceed to great reforms in the
judges. next session. 1
Isolated as he knew himself to be in Ireland, Wentworth
Sept. 20. turned to the King for some token of his satisfaction
^k" for an wn ^ cri m ight give assurance to all men that in resisting
earieom. the Deputy they would have to reckon with the King.
In all humility he asked for an earldom. Charles, who liked
1 Wentvrorth to Coke, Aug. 18 ; Wentworth to the Judges, Aug. 21,
1634, Stra/ord LttUrs, i. 276 29*.
1634 AN OBEDIENT PARLIAMENT. 51
to be the originator of his own favours, refused to grant the
request. 1 Wentworth . had to meet Parliament again without
any mark of his sovereign's approbation.
The new session was opened on November 4. On the 27th
Wentworth announced that the whole of the Graces would
not be the subject of legislation. In a moment the
The second Catholic members of the Lower House burst into
session.
insurrection. Through the accidental absence of a
few of their opponents, they found themselves in command of a
majority. They declared that if the King's promise was to be
thus scandalously broken, they would pass no Bills. One vote
after another went against the Government Sir Piers Crosby,
a member of the Privy Council, who had commanded an Irish
A Catholic regiment at Rlie", put himself at the head of the
majority. movement, and urged the rejection of a Bill for the
punishment of accessaries to murder.
Wentworth was not to be thus overborne. He summoned
a meeting of the Privy Council, and obtained their assent to
Wentworth t ^ 1G sec l uestra tio n of Crosby from the board till the
recovers a King's pleasure could be known. At the same time
majority. * +
he made urgent instances to the absent Protestant
members to return to their duty. In his eyes, whatever he might
have said in his opening speech about the maintenance of har-
mony between Catholic and Protestant, it was still a question
of the gradual and irresistible supersession of the religion of
the Irish by the religion of the English. " It may seem strange,"
he wrote, in the account of the affair which he sent home, "that
this people should be so obstinately set against their own good,
and yet the reason is plain ; for the friars and Jesuits, fearing
that these laws would conform them here to the manners of
England, and in time be a means to lead them on to a con-
formity in religion and faith also, they catholicly oppose and
fence up every path leading to so good a purpose ; and, in
deed, I see plainly that, so long as this kingdom continues
Popish, they are not a people for the Crown of England to be
confident of ; whereas, if they were not still distempered by
1 Wentworth to the King, Sept. 20, 1634. The King to Wentworth,
Oct. 23, Stra/ord Letters, i. 301, 331.
K2
52 WENTWORTP: IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVI.
the infusion of these friars and Jesuits, I am of belief they
would be as good and loyal to their King as any other subjects."
The Protestant members responded to Wentworth's appeal.
Dec. 15. They returned to their posts, and Bill after Bill was
Scund fthe carried through the House. On December 15 the
session. second session came to an end, to Wentworth's com-
plete satisfaction. 1
Two more short sessions were needed in the course of the
following year to complete the work of legislation. No such
series of wise and beneficent laws had ever been
1635.
TWO more enacted in Ireland. Wentworth would have been
sessions
willing to retain so useful a Parliament for future
work. Charles, however, who held that Parliaments, being ' of
the nature of cats, grew curst by age,' commanded a dissolution.
With the aid of a Protestant majority which represented but
a small minority of the population of Ireland, Wentworth had
i6 obtained the semblance of a national approval to those
December, changes in the law, which, as he hoped, would lead to
The Irish . ' . ' '.
convoca- changes greater still. At the same time his care was un-
ceasing for the improvement of the material position
of the clergy, in the expectation that they would thereby be the
better fitted for the work which he expected from them ; but
he was not content with improving their material position. He
thought that it would be necessary, if they were ever to make con-
verts of the Irish, to modify their teaching so as to render it more
acceptable to those to whom they were sent. As the very fact
that in Ireland a Protestant minority had been thrown in the
midst of a Roman Catholic population, had made that minority,
wherever it had retained any consciousness of religion at all,
more defiantly and obtrusively Protestant than in countries
where Protestantism had no danger to apprehend, the
Wentworth . si
demands its Irish articles which, under Usher's guidance, had been
acceptanceof , . , , . . . .' _ . . . . ,
the English drawn up in 1615, had adopted the Calvmistic doc-
trine in .its most distinctive form. Wentworth deter-
mined that Convocation, without formally repealing these
articles, should now adopt the articles of the Church of England,
so as practically to supersede those which he found in existence.
1 \Ventworth to Coke, Dec. 16, 1634, Stratford Letters, i. 345.
1634. THE IRISH CONVOCATION. 53
To this high-handed attempt to deal with their belief, the
clergy in the Lower House of Convocation naturally objected.
They appointed a committee which proceeded to
Opposition . , , - A, . . .
of the Lower revise the canons of the Church of England, and
which directed that the Irish articles should be
received under pain of excommunication. The Deputy at
once interfered. Sending for Dean Andrews, the chairman of
the committee, he told him that he was possessed by the spirit
of Ananias, and that ' it was not for a few petty clerks to pre-
sume to make articles of faith.' With his own hand he drew
up a canon prescribing the acceptance of the English articles,
and ordered that it should be put to the vote. Wentworth's
canon was adopted with only two dissentient voices. 1 The
other canons of the Church of England were amended by
Bramhall, perhaps under Usher's direction, and were finally
adopted. 2 As far as Dean Andrews was concerned, Wentworth's
,6 3S< contempt was amply justified. In order to punish
Penal pro- jjj m he obtained from the Kins; his promotion to
motion oi
Andrews. the bishopric of Ferns, a see so poor as to afford to
its new bishop a smaller income than that which he had received
as Dean of Limerick. So delighted was Andrews with the pro-
motion that he boasted of it openly in the pulpit before he
learned the cost of it. "How long," he said, in a sermon at
which Wentworth was present, " how long have we heretofore
expected preferment. But now, God be praised, we have it."
Wentworth had much difficulty in keeping his countenance.
" He is a good child," he wrote, in giving an account of the
scene, "and kisseth the rod." 3
The condition of the Irish Church, in fact, was such as to
invite the interference of the Deputy. It was the
The Deputy _, i_ rii t i
and the creature of the State as no other Church in the world
was. If the protecting hand of the English Govern-
ment were removed, it would fall of itself before the combined
1 Wentworth to Laud, Dec. 16, Strafford Letters. Bramhall to Laud.
Dec. 20, 1634, S. P. Ireland. The latter shows that the point was mooted
in the Upper House, which Dr. Elrington doubted. U slur's Works, ii. 74.
2 Elrington 's Life of Usher, Usher** Works, i. 178.
1 Wentworth to Laud, March 10, 1635, Strafford Letters, \. 378.
54 WEN T WORTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVL
assaults of the native Catholics and of the rapacious landowners
who extended to it a nominal deference. The habit of sub-
servience to the Government was a necessity of the situation.
It showed itself not merely in time-servers like Andrews, but in
men as pious and honourable as Archbishop Usher. Went-
worth professed a good-humoured but somewhat contemptuous
toleration for an Archbishop who had done so little to help
him in the emergency, mingled with a sincere respect for his
learning and character. In fact Usher could hardly have acted
otherwise than he did. Though he, as a believer in the Cal-
vinistic doctrine of predestination, must have regarded the
setting aside of the Irish articles with dissatisfaction, he had a
keen sense of the evils which affected the clergy, and he justly
regarded those evils as more destructive than slackness to
advocate even a doctrine which he believed to be true. He
therefore warmly supported Wentworth and Laud in their efforts
for the moral improvement of the Irish clergy without approving
of their doctrinal tendencies.
The rejection of the Irish articles was followed by a fierce
attempt to repress the Calvinistic Presbyterianism of the
Scottish colonists in Ulster. Bramhall, the new
teriLnsm in Bishop of Deny, was a man after Laud's own heart.
He announced that he would soon put an end to such
practices in his diocese. " It would trouble a man," he wrote,
contemptuously, "to find twelve Common Prayer-books in all
their churches, and those only not cast behind the altar because
they have none ; but in place of it a table twelve yards long,
where they sit and receive the sacrament like good fellows." l
Zeal, unless it worked in his own grooves, was never in-
telligible to Wentworth. No dream of the wildest enthusiast
Hopeless- was ever more shadowy than the vision entertained
Wenworth's by ^ m ^ a ren gi n sober and energetic, alike with-
task. ou t doctrinal exaggerations and without the bitter-
ness of party spirit by which they are attended. He might as
well have attempted to yoke the zebra to his chariot as to bring
the Scottish and English settlers of the North and the impulsive
1 Bramhall to Laud, Dec. 20, 1634, S. P. Ireland.
1635 IRISH PLANTATIONS. 55
Celts of the rest of Ireland under the same decorous discipline
of the English Church. Yet even here it was Wentworth's per-
ception of facts rather than his judgment which was at fault.
Calvinistic Presbyterianism with him was simply the work
of a few factious agitators. Irish Catholicism was simply the
work of friars and Jesuits. He had no conception that these
forms of belief were but the natural outcome of the life of those
by whom they were held, and that in seeking to eradicate those
beliefs from the hearts of men he was embarked on an enter-
prise to which even his powers were ludicrously inadequate.
He might browbeat Parliaments and Convocations, because
those Parliaments and Convocations were but shadowy emana-
tions from an alien Government. He could neither create
nor destroy the religion of a people. The Calvinistic preacher
and the Jesuit missionary alike had a hold on the spiritual side
of man's complex being. They appealed to his hopes of
heaven, his craving for a guidance upon earth which he could
follow without abandoning his own habits of belief. What had
Wentworth to set in opposition to that ?
Closely connected with Wentworth's eagerness to convert
the Irish to Protestantism was his eagerness to introduce fresh
English colonists in order to tighten his grasp upon
The pro- . . T . . .
posed plan- the native population. In neither case was he
without a desire for improving the condition of the
Irish themselves. He believed in his heart that they would be
the better for the influence of the English settlers, just as he
believed in his heart that they would be the better for the
influence of the English form of religion. The desire of
strengthening the King's authority and the desire of elevating the
condition of his subjects were inseparably connected in his mind.
How this matter of colonisation looked in the eyes of
Englishmen may be learned from a paper of advice relating to a
Paper of projected plantation of Ormond and the neighbouring
ormond" the districts. " If the natives of those counties," we are
plantation, told, " may be estated in convenient quantities for
their livelihood by good grants from the King, they will be more
ready and assured servants to the Crown and will build and
plant ; whereas now, having no title and much of land divided
56 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. CH. Lxxvl.
into very petty tenancies, the people have no comfort to build
or settle, neither are able to serve as becometh, nor to suppress
the insolent idlers. If these countries were so governed by
English, there would be an absolute interposition between the
Irish of Connaught and the Irish of Leinster, both which are
most wavering and doubtful of all other parts of the kingdom,
whereas now, by the opportunity of the freedom they there
enjoy to intercourse, the peace is daily disturbed. These were
the countries that gave Tyrone passage and most relief when he
brought his army into Munster to join the invading Spaniards ;
so as the putting of these into right hands and governance is
an act of greater consequence than is easily foreseen. Because
there is no English in that country, there is not so much as the
face of a church or any resident ministers. By this plantation
the churches will be endowed, congregations settled, the
religion in some measure professed, and the service of God
induced."
Three towns, the writer added, should be built and settled
with English burgesses, whilst the petty Irish might be esta-
blished as copyholders or tenants for life of small proportions,
to dwell about the towns, so that their children might be
brought up in trade. Such of the natives as were ' possessed
of any lands by virtue or pretence of any late patents ' were ' to
be favourably used.' l
Another writer treated of the counties of Roscommon,
Sligo, and Mayo in a more trenchant style. " The remote
Paper on parts of these counties which border upon the sea,"
Connaught. h e sa y S? anc j m ost of the inland counties, are in-
habited with a poor indigent people so barbarous in all respects
as the Indians or Moors. This plantation will bring in amongst
them some undertakers of the British nation which sometime
will beget the natives to more civility and conformity, as in
other places they have done where the plantations have run.
The inferior natives do all of them make their dependency
upon the Irish lords, and do now pay unto them either public
or private chiefries. There is not any one thing permitted by
1 Advice to plant a portion on the Shannon, 6". P. Ireland, Bundle
282.
1635 THE CON NAUGHT PLANTATION. 57
the State which draws with it a more pernicious inconvenience
to the crown and commonwealth than this very particular, for
it is the condition of the Irish lords and gentry to esteem all
those who pay them rent and chiefries to be their people, their
followers, their very slaves ; and the nature of the inferior Irish
natives is to conceive and account his lord to whom he pays
rent or chiefry to be his only patron and protector, as good and
loyal subjects conceive of their king, to whom they are so
devoted as they will at any time go into open action of rebellion
at the will and pleasure of their lords."
This evil, the writer proceeded to argue, would be remedied
by the proposed plantation. " This plantation will bring in
freeholders of the British nation into all the counties, who will
be able to serve his Majesty and the commonwealth at all
public services faithfully, equally, and indifferently, agreeable to
the truth of their evidence, whereas at this present all business
and matters are swayed and carried agreeable to the will and
disposition of one or two men in a county, so that neither his
Majesty nor any other subject can have any indifferency upon
any inquiry or trial, to the great detriment and disservice of his
Majesty, and the unspeakable loss and prejudice of the subject.
This plantation will double his Majesty's certain revenue in
what now is paid. and whatsoever it will do more. This planta-
tion will intermix the British nation with the natives, which will
bring in civility by divers ways and means ; it will procure the
natives to become laborious, who are apt to labour by the good
example of others, when they may have hire and reward for
the same ; but the Irish lords and gentry do never give the
poor people anything for their labour, which doth so dispose
them to idleness. It will bring in trade and commerce, the
English language, apparel, customs, and manners. It will
beget inclosures, and laying their land into severals which now
lies as in common. This will be a great means to banish and
suppress night thieves and stealers of cattle. It will beget
good, perfect, and plenty of guides in the Irish countries of the
British nation, the want whereof, in the late rebellions, were a
great means of the long continuance of the wars. ... It will
so intermix the British nation with the natives as the natives
38 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVI.
shall not be able hereafter to contrive any rebellions as here-
tofore they have done, but that the State will have timely
advertisement of the same to prevent or meet with the incon-
veniency. ... It will improve generally the lands of the whole
province, and by the well and orderly laying out of the natives'
lands round and entire together, the loss of the fourth part will
be equally recompensed, and will not be unwelcome to most
of the natives who are men of any judgment and sensible of
reason, and have taken special notice of the convenient and
orderly living of the freeholders in those countries where the
plantations have run already." l
The view taken in these papers was the same as that taken by
every Englishman who had visited Ireland. Accustomed to a
life passed in busy activity, and thrown upon his own
English j r i_- ir j i r -i
view of Irish resources to provide for himself and his family under
the discipline of enforced submission to the authority
of a Government in the lower functions of which he himself
shared, and against the encroachment of which he was to a
great extent protected by the law, the Englishman was unable
to understand that even this rude poverty-stricken Irish life
might have its charms for men whose training had been different
from his own. He could not comprehend how what seemed
to him to be a slavish submission to the caprices of the chief
might find its compensation in the kindly intercourse of good-
fellowship which sprang up from the acknowledgment of a
common kinship between the chief and his tribe ; or how the
lack of the sentiment of individual ownership of land might be
made up by the sense of joint ownership in the whole of the
territory of the tribe. For even the most learned Englishman
in those days had never thought of studying the ways and habits
of less civilised nations, except as objects of amusement or
derision. The lesson that it is only with tottering steps and
slow progress that a people can walk forward on the path of
civilisation had yet to be revealed.
In the mistake of under-estimating the amount of resistance
which the Irish were likely to offer to his well-meant efforts to
1 The benefits which will arise from the plantation, S. /'. Ireland,
Bundle 281.
r635 STATE OF ULSTER. &
drag them forward for their good, as a foolish nurse drags for-
ward the child committed to her care, Wentworth
State of the . /- t -KT
English was no wiser than the mass of his countrymen. Nor
did he take into his calculation the repellent effect of
the sudden introduction amongst the native population of a
number of rough Englishmen, greedy of gain and contemptu-
ously disregardful of the feelings of a people whom they looked
upon as barbarous, and whose very language they were unable
to comprehend.
Even in Ulster, after a settlement of more than twenty years,
colonisation had not smoothed away all difficulties. In January
January. an d February the municipal authorities of the City
The London- o f London, to the principal companies of which the
derry settle- ' t r- r
ment. county of Londonderry had been granted, appeared
before the Star Chamber to answer to a charge of having broken
February, their charter. That charter had imposed conditions
Forfeiture of upon them which they had undoubtedly failed to
the London l J
charter. fulfil. They had been expected to build more houses
than they had built, to send over more English settlers than
they had sent, and, above all, to exclude the Irish natives from
holding land except in certain specified districts. It appeared
that in many parts of the county the natives outnumbered the
colonists in a very large proportion ; that, instead of being con-
verted to Protestantism, these natives remained constant to
their own religion, and supported a large number of priests who
confirmed them in their resolution to set the English clergy at
defiance. The Star Chamber held that the charge was fully
proved, and condemned the City to a fine of 7o,ooo/., and to
the forfeiture of the land. It is not unlikely that a body of
London citizens may have been somewhat remiss in directing
the arrangements of a settlement in the north of Ireland ; but
it was hard measure to hold them responsible for the failure.
It was not their fault if English colonists would not
Condition of . . . . , .
the Ulster emigrate in such numbers as was desirable ; and if
setilement. .1 , 11 ^ /> _i i-> i- i
the new proprietors could not find Englishmen to
rent their farms, it was more than was to be expected from
human nature to ask them to keep their lands out of cultivation
rather than let them to the Irish. Nor wab the temptation to
60 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVI
admit Irish tenants, even when an English applicant presented
himself, easy to withstand. An Irishman, as it was stated upon
evidence at the trial, was always ready to offer a larger sum
than an Englishman would consent to pay. It is possible that
this unexpected result may have been owing in part to the
strong desire of the natives to remain attached to the soil which
they regarded as their own. Another reason, however, suggests
itself, which goes far to explain the difficulties of the task which
the Deputy had undertaken. The Irish of Ulster fully believed
that the day was at hand when the O'Neill and the O'Donnell
would return, and when their dispossessed tribesmen would
enter into the possession of the well-tilled lands and the newly
erected habitations of the English intruders. If this belief
were shared by the settlers, it is easy to understand that few
would be ready to pay a large rent for a farm in a new and
unknown land in which he ran a good chance of having his
throat cut one morning by his Celtic neighbours. On the
other hand, an Irishman would be inclined to offer something
more than the fair market price in order that he might be in
actual possession of a portion of the soil when the day of libera-
tion came. 1
It would be some time before the citizens of London learned
whether the fine imposed upon them was to be exacted. In
the end, after the expiration of four years, they received a
pardon on surrendering their Irish estates and the payment of
i2,oooZ., which Charles wanted to give as a present to the
Queen. Wentworth, who seems to have taken no very great
interest in the investigation conducted in England, was never-
theless ready, after sentence had been given, to turn the occasion
to the best profit for the King. The lesson of the Ulster diffi-
culties, however, had no effect in causing him any hesitation in
his resolution to treat Connaught as Ulster had been
Wentworth treated by James. In July he proceeded westward with
vCifcon- the intention of finding a title for the Kingin other
words, of persuading or compelling the Connaught
juries to acknowledge that the soil of the province belonged to
' Notes of the proceedings in the Star Chamber, Jan. and Feb. 1635,
S. P. Ireland.
1635 WENTWORTH IN CONNAUGHT. 6l
the Crown for some reason intelligible only to the English
lawyers, in spite of the solemn promise of the King that he
would take no advantage of any such technicality.
Wentworth had no conception that it was possible for the
Irish to resist excepting from interest or spite. He took his
Selects the measures accordingly. He did not, indeed, as he
jun. might have done if his conscience had convicted
him of wrongdoing, order the selection of juries composed of
dependents of the Government. He ordered, on the contrary,
that 'gentlemen of the best estates and understanding should be
returned.' If the verdict of such persons was as he wished it
to be, it would carry weight with it amongst their neighbours.
If it was otherwise, they would be wealthy enough to 'answer
the King a good round sum in the Castle Chamber.'
The Deputy's first attempt was made in Roscommon. He
sent for half a dozen of the principal gentry, spoke them fairly,
June 9. and assured them' that, though the King had a clear
^n C Ros Wth an< ^ undoubted title to the whole of Connaught, he was
common. ready to hear any argument which might be urged to
bar his rights. The next day, after the case had been argued by
the lawyers, Wentworth addressed the jury. He told
them that his Majesty had been moved in the first place
by his desire to make them ' a civil and rich people, which '
could ' not by any so sure and ready means be attained as by
a plantation. . . . Yet that should be so done as not to take
anything from them that was justly theirs, but in truth to
bestow amongst them a good part of that which was his own.'
fie had no need to ask them for a verdict at all. The King's
right was so plain that a simple order of the Court of Exchequer
would have been sufficient to give him all he claimed. His
Majesty was, however, graciously pleased to take his people
along with him, and to give them a part of the honour and
profit of so glorious a work. Wentworth concluded with the
strongest possible hint, that if they ventured to refuse to ac-
knowledge the King's title, they would do so at their peril.
This mixture of cajolery and firmness bore down opposition
in Roscommon. The jury returned a verdict for the King,
and in Sligo and Mayo the same result was obtained The
62 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVI.
Galway jury at Portumna gave the Deputy more difficulty.
He succeeds Wentworth was there in the territory of the De Burghs.
mon, sCo", The head of the family, the Earl of St. Albans
and Mayo. an( j Q anr j ca rde, had stood by Elizabeth when all
1 he Earl of .... .
cianricarde. Ireland was seething with rebellion. Ever since he
had loyally kept his country in obedience to the Crown, but it
was with the loyalty of a tributary king to his suzerain rather
than with the fidelity of a subject. He had himself lived of
late years in England, but his chief kinsmen exercised authority
and dispensed justice in his name in Galway. Though sprung
from the Norman invaders, the De Burghs had long been Irish
in habits and religion, and they naturally looked askance on
Wentworth's desire to establish the domination of Protestantism
and of the English law on a soil so peculiarly their own. To
the Deputy's surprise the jury boldly found against
Resistance the King. His anger knew no bounds. He fined
m Galway. ^ g^gj-jfl- I)OOO /. f or returning a packed jury, and
directed that the jurymen themselves should appear in the
Castle Chamber to answer for their fault He further
caikofiT directed that steps should be taken to procure an
order from the Court of Exchequer which would set
the verdict aside, and that troops should be sent to Galway to
make resistance impossible. 1
Wentworth's own explanation of these proceedings was that
the verdict given did not express the real sentiments of the
Wentworth's jurors. It had been dictated to them by the Earl's
explanation. ne p new an( j steward. It was no mere question of truth
or falsehood. It was simply a question of loyalty to the Earl or
loyalty to the King. Now therefore was the time to break the
authority of this powerful chieftain. A fair opportunity was offered
of securing the county ' by fully lining and planting it with
English.' To do this it would be necessary to take from the pre-
tended owners of land more than the fourth part, of which, by
the rules of a plantation, those of the other three counties were to
be deprived. His Majesty was 'justly provoked so to do, and
likely to put a difference between them who force him to under-
1 Wentworth to Coke, July 4, 1635, Stratford Letters, i. 442.
1 635 THE GALWAY JURY. 63
take a suit at law for his own, and his other subjects who readily
acknowledge his right.' l
The chief lesson of Wentworth's history is missed by those
who regard him as an oppressor and a tyrant beating resistance
down before him in order to give free scope to his
Character of . . ... -. .....
histreatment own arbitrary will. In truth the type of his mind
|ury< was that of the revolutionary idealist who sweeps
aside all institutions which lie in his path, and who defies the
sluggishness of men and the very forces of human nature, in
order that he may realise those conceptions which he believes
to be for the benefit of all. The real objection to Wentworth's
dealing with the Galway jury was, not that he respected it too
little, but that he made use of it at all to attain an object which
those who composed it regarded as unjust. He tried at one
and the same time to reap the advantages of autocratic despot-
ism and of legal government. The result was far worse than if
he had interfered authoritatively with the strong hand of power.
By consulting the jury and refusing to be bound by its verdict,
he sowed broadcast the seeds of distrust and disaffection. He
had bowed in semblance before the majesty of the law, only to
turn upon it in anger when it ceased to do his pleasure. The
King's authority would be associated more than ever in the
eyes of Irishmen with unintelligible, incalculable violence. It
was a force to be bound by no engagements, and acting by no
rules which they were able to understand.
In the end, however, Wentworth's policy would stand or
fall by the measure which he dealt out, not to the kinsmen and
followers of Clanrickard, but to the mass of the population of
the county. It is useless to deny that his intention was to
benefit them. But here too there was a mixture of force and
fraud which ruined what might have been the success of either.
He wanted the Irish to be more orderly and industrious, more
rational in religion and politics, higher in the scale of civilised
beings in every way. Yet his own conduct was not such as he
could fairly ask them to imitate. They knew that he proposed to
deluge their land with English colonists, who would regard them
1 Wentworth and the Commissioners to Coke, Aug. 25, 1635, Str<tf.
ford Letters, i. 450.
64 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVI.
with contempt, and who were only to be brought so far from
home in order that they might keep them in awe, as the gaoler
keeps his prisoners. They knew that he treated with contempt
the religion to which they clung and the old ancestral reverence
with which their chiefs inspired them. To Wentworth the
relation which bound them to their chiefs was one of mere
tyranny on one side and servitude on the other. He did not
see, what the poorest Irish cotter saw, that that system which
seemed to favour none but idle swordsmen and profligate
cosherers, kept up in the hearts of the Celtic people the belief
in the old principle which still survived as part of the old in-
heritance of the race that the soil belonged not to this man or
to that, but to the tribe which dwelt upon it What did they
know of the arguments of the Dublin lawyers, based upon
technicalities which were but the froth and scum of an alien
system of law. What were the flaws to be found in the grants
of Plantagenet kings, or contrived by the roguery of Dublin
officials, to them? They held that the land was theirs, and
that it was not to be portioned out to any intruder who might
come in by the good favour of a foreign ruler.
It does not follow that Wentworth was not right in pro-
claiming that the time had come when the system of tribal
ownership must give way to the system of individual
from Gal- ownership. His mistake was that he did not even try
to take along with him those who were most interested
in the change. "If,"' said the inhabitants of Galway in a petition
to the King, " pretension of manuring and bettering the country
be the ground of plantation, if his Majesty be so pleased, they
will undertake to effect such performances as any other planters
would have done, the rather that they will make it appear how
the country, though now in a good state, would be shortly
much improved if the fear of plantations and other threatenings
had not hindered them." Doubtless there were risks on this
side, too, and it would require some pressure to obtain the fulfil-
ment of these promises when the fear of danger was withdrawn.
It would need the maintenance of a powerful army and the
exertion of active diligence to see that the change was really
effected ; but there would have been the immense advantage of
1635 WENTWORTWS ERROR. 65
making it clear in the eyes of the Irish population that the
English Government was on their side, and that it was in favour
of the poor and oppressed Irishman, not in favour of the
English adventurer, that its strong arm was ready to intervene.
Above all, Wentworth would at last have had a case which
would enable him to appeal to the sense of justice of those
whom he governed. To say that the King's promises to the
Connaught landowners were conditional upon the performance
by those landowners of the duties which they owed to iheir own
followers would have offended no man but those landowners
themselves. To seize the lands of rich and poor, upon what
every man knew to be a mere pretext, in order to build up
upon the ruins a new society, the very foundations of which
had yet to be laid, was to offend against the universal sense
of right. There are times when institutions become worthless,
when Parliaments and juries are mere cloaks for misgovern-
ment and oppression. But behind Parliaments and juries lies
the indestructible tenacity with which every population clings
to the habits of life which it has inherited. Wentworth, for
a time at least, might have set aside the institutions which
were intended to be the organs of the population if he had
reverenced the population itself, s In hurrying on social changes
which approved themselves to few excepting to himself, he
courted disaster. He was building a house upon the sand.
The flood would soon rise which was to sweep it away.
Wentworth failed where he believed himself to be strongest.
At the bottom his life's work was contention, not so much for
the Royal authority as for the supremacy of intellect. Yet it
was his own intellectual conception of the Irish problem which
had proved defective. " The voice of the people," as the first
Parliament of James had declared, " is, in things of their know-
ledge, as the voice of God." If Wentworth saw things to which
the Irish people were blind, they too, in their turn, saw things
to which he was blind, with all his wisdom. There is no security
that the wisest statesmen will not pursue a phantom of his own
imagination. There is no security that popular feeling will not
rush headlong into impatient and ignorant action. But the
statesman guards himself best against the errors incident to his
VOL. VIII. F
66 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. CH. LXXVI.
calling who keeps his ear open to the indications of popular
feeling which it is his duty to guide, as the people guard them-
selves best against the errors incident to their position when
they keep their ear open to the words of experience and intel-
ligence which it is their safety to follow. It was Wentworth's
fault that he attempted to drive and not to lead, that he
offended deeply that moral sense of the Irish community in
cherishing which far more than in the importation of hundreds
of English soldiers or thousands of English colonists lay the
truest hope of the progress of Ireland in civilisation and in all
things else.
67
CHAPTER LXXVII.
THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY.
To no man did Wentworth pour out his troubles and his difficul-
ties as he did to Laud. The mind of the Deputy indeed was cast
in a nobler mould than the mind of the Archbishop.
Wentworth He was less regardful of trivialities, and more bent
and Laud. U p On attaining the higher aims of a statesman's life.
In the main, however, the characters of the two men were formed
upon the same lines. Both trusted to the influence of external
discipline upon the minds of the people. Both were unwilling
to admit that the ruler who had formed his own idea of right
ought to be turned aside by the desire of complying with the
wishes of the governed. Both were beyond measure energetic,
and unsparing of themselves in the service of that master
whose interests they believed to be identical with the interests of
the State. Both were advocates of that which in the jargon of
their confidential correspondence they called Thorough '
of the resolute determination of going through
roug ' with it, as it might nowadays be expressed, of dis-
regarding and overriding the interested delays and evasions of
those who made the public service an excuse for enriching
themselves at the public expense, or the dry technical argu-
ments of the lawyers which would hinder the accomplishment
of schemes for the public good.
It was a noble ambition by which these men were possessed,
an ambition which was, however, none the less likely to overleap
itself because it was not stained with personal selfishness or
greed. It forgot that the desire to do good is not always an
1 ' Thorough ' and ' through ' are the same words, and in the I7th cen-
tury were spelt in the same way.
F 2
68 THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXVII.
assurance of wisdom that even the quirks of ignorant lawyers
or the stupidity of an ignorant mob may be a useful safeguard
against the hasty and thoughtless actions of men who believe
themselves to be wise.
In the spring of 1635, however, Wentworth and Laud
seemed to be carrying all before them. They were able to re-
joice together over the removal of the man who was the im-
personation of inactivity and selfishness. Portland, the cause,
they thought, of all that was amiss, the Lady Mora of their cor-
respondence, ' was dead. Month by month Laud had watched
his irregularities, had dragged them to light before the King,
and had been startled to find that Charles clung to his old
minister in spite of all that could be said against him.
Laud fondly hoped that the system which Portland had
established would come to an end with his life. When Edward
Conversa- Hyde, the young lawyer who was one day to become
I'audtnT" Earl of Clarendon, came to him to tell how the late
Hyde. Treasurer had thrown obstacles in the way of the
merchants of London, with the sole object of benefiting a
dependent by the obstruction, Laud replied that he knew
nothing of such matters, but that as the King had, contrary to
his desire, made him one of the Commissioners of the
Treasury, ' he intended to spare no pains to enable himself to
serve his master.' l
The appointment of the Treasury Commission was only a
temporary expedient. Amongst those who were regarded as
wen 'onh k'kely to be ultimately selected as Portland's successor,
aud cotting- Wentworth and Cottington were the most promi-
ton named , . i i 11 i 11.
tor theTrea- nent, and it was believed that, on the whole, the King
inclined to Wentworth. 2 It is useless to speculate
whether, if the Lord Deputy had at this time transferred his
services to England, he would have accelerated the outburst of
resistance by his arrogant defiance of the popular will, or would
have postponed it by the skilfulness of his repressive measures.
For the present, however, it was impossible to recall him from
Ireland. When Portland died in March, the Irish Parliament
1 Clarendon's Life, i. 22.
2 Correr to the Dot^e, March T -^-^, Ven. MSS.
33, 30'
1035 THE TREASURY COMMISSION. 69
was still sitting, and Connaught was still unvisited. Partly in
the hope that Wentworth's services might still be available
in England, partly in order that a thorough and impartial in-
vestigation might be conducted into the financial position of
his government, partly too from the natural irresolution of his
character, Charles postponed the selection of a Lord Treasurer
for some months to come.
At the Treasury Commission Laud was the representative
of Wentworth's ideas less skilful indeed, and far less likely to
seize the true point at issue in a complicated ques-
cotcington tion, but to the full as pertinacious and as resolute
Treasury to set the service of the King above all other con^
siderations. Both here and at the Committee for
Foreign Affairs, he found himself opposed by Cottington, whose
faults and merits alike were in glaring contrast with the faults and
merits of the Archbishop. When Laud willed anything he willed
it with all the fixity of purpose of an earnest if narrow mind. He
was utterly ignorant of the ways of the world, and, as he had
told Hyde, he had no acquaintance with the special business
of the Treasury. His moral indignation against the carelessness
and the worse than carelessness of officials filled the sails of his
purpose, and he drove straight to the mark before him, reckless
what offence he gave or what difficulties he laid up in store for the
future. For himself he had no private ends in view, no desire
of pelf or vainglory, no family to provide for or state to keep
up. Cottington, on the other hand, was swayed neither by zeal
for the public good nor by scrupulous regard for justice. He
would be content if only, whatever happened, the barque of
his fortunes remained floating on the tide. Never at a loss for
a courteous word to those who sought his favour, he was never
known to do a kind action which entailed loss upon himself.
If there was anything which he really respected it was the Church
of Rome and the Spanish monarchy. Yet the representatives of
the Church of Rome and of the Spanish monarchy did not cease
to complain that they could never be sure whether he was in
earnest or not, or to express a belief that in all probability he
meant to trick them in the end. He had a superficial know-
ledge of most things, without knowing anything thoroughly.
70 THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXVII.
As Chancellor of the Exchequer, however, he had acquired a
close acquaintance with the details of financial business, which,
together with his perfect command over his own temper, gave
him an enormous advantage over his irritable rival. Nothing
pleased him so much as when he could contrive, by gravely
defending some untenable proposition, to excite the anger
of the irascible Archbishop, in order quietly to turn the
laugh against him in the end. Nor was the conflict between
the two men so entirely unequal as the difference between
their moral natures would seem to show. Laud brought
with him to the Treasury the same errors which were the
cause of his misgovernment of the Church. Just as out-
ward form and ceremony was to him not merely the sign but
the very source of Christian unity, so he never got beyond
the idea that to gather money into the Treasury was the sign
and source of the political strength of a financier. It was
enough if material wealth were at his command, and he never
stopped to ask whether the moral forces upon which the con-
stant supply of wealth ultimately depended were also on nis
side. Cottington was very far from seeing the root of the evil,
but he had tact enough to know that even a surplus might be
dearly bought at the cost of exasperating the nation.
Cottington was the more to be dreaded as an antagonist as
he had lately received a. special mark of the King's favour.
Sir Robert Naunton, Master of the Court of Wards,
was old and in ill-health, and Cottington was selected
by the King as his successor. The Earl of Salisbury, it is true,
had received a promise of the reversion of the place, but Salis-
bury was notoriously incompetent to fulfil the duties of any
office calling for the exercise of the most ordinary ability, and a
letter drawn up by Cottington himself informed him that though
his Majesty would not forget him, he would not make him
Master of the Wards. 1 It was more difficult to deal with
Naunton himself. Hi as he was, he was hopeful of recovery,
and he would not hear of retiring. It was only by the direct
intervention of the King, accompanied by general promises of
favour, that he was at last induced to surrender his office. A
1 Cottington and Windebank to Salisbury, Feb. (?), S. /'. Dom.
cclxxxii no.
1635 THE SOAP MONOPOLY. 71
few days later the poor man was petitioning for a pension
granted him by the late King, which had remained unpaid for
March 16. years. He died almost immediately after the petition
M^siefof" had been penned. 1 Cottington had some days before
the Wards, taken possession of his office, which became in his
hands more profitable to the Crown than his predecessor had
made it.
It was not long before Laud began to doubt whether much
had been gained by Portland's death. In all his efforts to
obtain a thorough investigation of the finances he was met by
difficulties moved by Cottington. At last the quarrel came
The soap t a head over an arrangement which had been made
monopoly, by the late Lord Treasurer for improving the manu-
facture of soap, and for filling, at the same time, the pockets of
his friends.
The origin of the soap monopoly which came in the end to
stir up the ill-feeling of the people against the Government and
l63 ,. to set rival ministers by the ears was a humble one.
F\r e JSlp r ' Certain persons had obtained a patent in the preced-
patent. j n g re ign for the manufacture of soap by a new pro-
cess, from materials produced within the King's dominions.
This grant was confirmed in December 1631 by a patent in
which the Monopoly Act was distinctly appealed to in words
which show the anxiety of those who drew it up to keep within
the limits of that statute. 2
So far nothing illegal had been done. It is, however, prover-
bially difficult to draw an Act of Parliament so as to secure it
l632 completely against evasion, and the Monopoly Act
The"soa proved no exception to the rule. The legislature had
Company, distinctly excluded corporations from the incidence of
the Act, and as it was a legal maxim that the King could found
corporations for the benefit of trade, it was in the King's power
to create as many monopolies as he pleased by placing the
sole right of manufacture in the hands of a corporation instead
of conferring it upon an individual. Nor were the King's
powers exhausted here. He claimed a general right of super-
1 Petition, S. P. Dom. cclxxxv. 74.
Grant to Jones and others, Dec. 17, 1631. Pat. 7 Charlts Z
Part 10.
72 THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONE Y. CH. LXXVII.
vision over trade for the benefit of the community, which, if he
chose to make use of it, would entitle him, in the eyes of the
prerogative lawyers, to interfere with commercial transactions
in every possible way. In the exercise of these powers, Charles,
early in 1632, erected a company of soap-makers to buy up the
rights of the patentees. The company engaged to produce by
the new methods 5,000 tons of soap a year, and to pay into the
Exchequer 4/. for every ton sold by them, which upon the
quantity named would bring in 20,000!. a year. They engaged
to retail the soap at the low price of 3^. a pound. The King
was, on his part, to prohibit the export of tallow and potash, in
order that the materials of the manufacture might be attainable
itisautho- at a cnea P rate. No monopoly was granted to the
rised to test company, excepting for the new invention which they
manufac- had secured, but they were empowered to test all soap
made by independent persons, and to prohibit its
sale unless it had been marked by them as sweet and good. 1
The last provision was as impolitic as it was oppressive.
By it the independent soap-makers were subject to a test im-
Oppressive posed not by an impartial official, but by the very men
this Ure r f wno were ^eir rivals in trade, and who had every
mission. interest in pronouncing their productions to be de-
ficient in quality. The suspicions to which the grant of powers
so enormous naturally gave rise were strengthened when it was
known that the greater number of the members of the new
company were selected from the clique of Roman Catholics
who had attached themselves to Portland, and who were find-
ing so many opportunities of enriching themselves through his
protection.
Whilst the minds of those who were engaged in the soap
trade were still in a state of excitement, a proclamation ap-
peared forbidding the use of any oil other than olive
or rape oil in the manufacture. The employment of
fish oil, which had been much used for many years, was thus
prohibited, on the ground that soap so made was bad. 2
1 Erection of the Corporation, Jan. 20. Indenture, May 3, 1632,
fat. 7 Charles /., Part 12. 8 Charles /., Part 5.
2 Proclamation, June 28, Kymer. xix. 383.
J633 THE SOAP MONOPOLY. 73
The soap-makers protested in vain. They retorted that
the Company's soap was as bad as theirs was good, and they
, 633 . found many believers. The question between the
(^th^oap- Company and the soap-makers rapidly assumed the
makers. dignity of an affair of state. The Council charged
the soap-makers with suborning persons to spread false rumours
to the disparagement of the Company's soap, and ordered the
Attorney- General to commence a prosecution in the
November.
Star- Star Chamber of some of their number who persisted
protection in carrying on the manufacture without submitting
ordered. tQ ^ Company's test. In order to meet the rumour
by other means than prosecution, the Council directed that the
new soap should be submitted to an impartial tribunal The
Dec. e. Lord Mayor, the Lieutenant of the Tower, together
i^qu? con- w ^h sun dry aldermen and men of note, were formed
siituted. i n t o a court of inquiry. 1 When the court assembled}
two washerwomen were introduced, to one of whom was handed
a piece of the Company's soap, whilst the other was supplied
with soap procured elsewhere. Tubs were brought in and a
bundle of dirty clothes. . When each washerwoman had done
her best, the court pronounced that the clothes washed with
the Company's soap ' were as white and sweeter than ' those
which had been operated on by the production of the indepen-
dent manufacturers. To add weight to this decision a declara-
tion in its support from more than eighty persons of various
ranks, peeresses and laundresses being included, was circulated
with it, and to this was appended a statement that the opinions
said to have been given against the soap were not really the
opinions of those to whom they had been attributed, or else
that they had been ' procured by persons who had no experience
in the said soap.'
1634. Soon after this report had been received, the
TteCouncii ^wy Council wrote to the justices of the peace in
offhe'new 56 commendation of the virtues of the authorised soap,
wap. its recommendations were received with a smile of
incredulity. It seemed so probable that the Council cared more
' Orders of Council, Dec. 6, 1633, Jan. 29, 1634. The Council to the
Justices, Feb., S. P. Dom. cclii. 21, ccliv. 34, cc!x. 119.
74 THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH.LXXVII.
about their rent of 2o,ooo/. a year than about the excellence of
the manufactured article. When the agents of the Company
visited private works in order to seize untested soap, the owners
September. were ^le to raise a mob against them. The agents
Soap Hots, complained that their clothes were torn and their lives
in danger. The Company called upon the Council to come to
its assistance with that protection without which it would be
ruined. Unpopular as monopolists, the members of the Soap
Company were additionally unpopular as being for the most part
Catholics, and it was even believed in well-informed quarters that
much of the money invested had been raised by the Jesuits. The
new soap was known in the streets as the Popish soap. It was
hard to drive a successful trade in the face of such obstacles. 1
Like the patentees of gold and silver thread fourteen years
before, the Company was now in difficulties through the im-
Sept.2 7 . possibility of securing itself against competition.
Com' S n P in It had incurred considerable expense in establishing
difficulties. jt s business, and it had been unable to make the
promised payments to the Crown. Its charter was thus forfeited
by the non-fulfilment of its conditions. Yet the Council con-
tinued to take its part, and ordered the arrest of offenders
against its regulations. 2
Such was the position of affairs when Portland died. The
Company had been so entirely his creation, that the indepen-
l6ss- dent soap-makers saw in his death the signal for their
inde r endent e triumph. They came forward with the most lavish
soap-makers. o ff ers . If only they were formed into a corporation
in the place of their rivals, they were ready to pay 8/. a ton into
the Exchequer, instead of the 4/. which the Company had offered.
1 " E pur troppo vero che qualcuni, per non dir molti, in particolare
Gesuiti e BenedeUini, hanno mutato il negotio delle anime in quello delle
borse ; et in particolare si dice del detto Basilic," i.e. Sir Basil Brooke,
"et suo compagno, che con danari de' Gesuiti sia entrato in un traffico
d' un nuovo sapone, il quale, perche a questa plebe non piace e conosce
1'autore, lo c'mama sapone papistico. " Panzani's letter, ^~, 1635, R. O.
Transcripts.
1 Petition of the Company, Sept. 29. Order in Council, Sept. 29,
S. P. Dom. cclxxiv. 52, 53.
1635 LAUD AND COTTINGTON. 75
The share of the King in the proceeds of the manufacture would
thus have been raised, uj)on the estimated rate of 5,000 tons
yearly, from 2o,ooo/. to 4o,ooo/. a year. 1
Laud took their part. He was doubtless content, like the
rest of his contemporaries, to believe that it was a good act to
encourage the manufacture of soap made out of English ma-
terials in the place of the manufacture of soap made out of
foreign materials ; but he thought that if this principle could be
maintained, it would be better to entrust the work to persons
practically acquainted with the business, than to a body of gen-
tlemen whose only qualification was the possession of Court
favour. Cottington, however, thought otherwise. The friends
of Portland were in the main his friends, and he fought hard
against Laud at every stage of the discussion. Laud,
Contention indeed, unintentionally placed arms in his opponent's
Laud and hands. Instead of advocating the cause of his clients
.tmgton. on t ^ e g roun( j U p on which they were strong, he sup-
ported them on the ground on which they were weak. If it was
wrong to levy 2o,ooo/. a year from the existing Company, it was
still more wrong to levy 40,ooo/. from their rivals. If the price
at which the soap was sold could not bear the burden, the
sellers would be ruined. If it could bear the burden, a new
form of indirect taxation would be imposed by the royal pre-
rogative. It may easily be understood that neither Laud nor
Cottington cared to enter upon the question involved in this
last consideration. On the simple ground that 4o,ooo/. would
be better for the Exchequer than half that sum, Laud beat
Cottington from point to point. But he bitterly complained
that Cottington had always an argument in reserve : ' when
all holes are stopped, then the King could not do it in
honour, and God knows what.' On Laud's own showing,
Cottington was plainly in the right. Unless the charter were
attacked on higher grounds, it was not for the King's honour
that a compact deliberately entered into should be annulled
simply because others offered to pay a larger sum into the Ex-
chequer. In the end the Company's rights were continued on
the understanding that they would advance io,ooo/. for the
1 Laud to Wentworth. June 12, Laud's Works, vii. 138.
76 THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXVII.
King's immediate necessities, to be deducted from their future
July. payments. 1 The payments were to be 3o,ooo/. for
pan eC coin- tne next two years, and 40,000^. afterwards. 2 Laud
tinued. had therefore gained his point with respect to the
money, whilst Cottington had his way about the persons. The
independent manufacturers paid the penalty. They were de-
livered over to fine and imprisonment in the Star Chamber
whenever they ventured to make soap without submitting their
articles to the inspection of the Company's searchers.
Laud's anger, when once it was aroused by any suspicion of
.slackness in the service of the King, was not easily allayed.
He was convinced that the Company would never
Laud's , , .. , ,,,,
quarrel with pay the money, whilst he was equally convinced that
there would be no difficulty in obtaining it from his
own favourites. All who had taken Cottington's part in the
business were included in his displeasure. The desertion of his
old friend Windebank vexed him greatly, so greatly that he
broke off all ties of friendship with a man whom he had raised
to the Secretaryship and who had now turned against him. It
was very pitiable, but it was something more than a mere differ-
erence of opinion which angered him. He had discovered that
Portland had been bribed with 2,000!. by the Company, and he
saw in Cottington the continuator of Portland's want of prin-
ciple. He was disgusted with his disingenuousness, and with
his disposition to shrink from going to the root of difficulties. To
Wentworth he poured out his distress freely. If Portland had
been the Lady Mora, Cottington was the Lady Mora's waiting-
maid. All he wanted was to get the Treasurer's staff and to fill
his own pockets, as Portland had done before him. 3
The impulse which Laud's presence gave to the Treasury
Energetic Board could not possibly remain without effect.
Treasur^ the Old accounts were subjected to a thorough investi-
<jommLssion. gation, new sources of revenue were opened up, and
old claims refurbished for modern use. In Portland's time few
1 Receipt Books, July 17. Hallam was mistaken in supposing this
money was paid as a fine for the renewal of the charter.
Garrard to Wentworth, July 30, Strafford Letters, i. 445.
3 Laud to Wentworth, July 31, Lated's Works, vii. ic-..
1635 FINANCIAL RESOURCES. 77
new demands had been advanced. There was a good deal of
peculation, but scarcely any taxation to which people were not
already accustomed. The compositions for knighthood were
universally acknowledged to be legally due to the King. Even
the payment of ship-money by the port towns had given rise to
no general objection. Scarcely was Portland in his grave when
all this was changed. To fill the King's exchequer was the
first thought with Laud and with those whom Laud was able to
influence.
The forest claims were now vigorously pushed forward. On
April 8, the blow at last fell upon the Essex landowners. The
. Court which had adjourned in the preceding autumn
Essex Forest was re-opened by Holland, and this time Finch ap-
peared as an assessor on the Bench. Sentence was
given for the Crown. All lands to the south of the road from
Colchester to Bishop's Stortford were adjudged to be within
the limits of the forest. Holland explained that, though he
was bound to carry out the sentence of the Court, he would do
what he could to mitigate its violence. 1
Mitigated or not, the sentence delivered in Essex could not
fail to propagate the belief that the King was determined to
May- strain his technical rights in order that he might reap
oiepopuia- a P ecun i ar y advantage. The issue of a Commission
tion. on depopulations pointed in the^same direction. In
the preceding October Sir Anthony Roper had been sentenced
to a heavy fine in the Star Chamber for allowing fields which
had once been cultivated to be desolate, and for ejecting the
cultivators from their homes. The Commissioners were directed
to inquire into similar cases, and to compound with the guilty
upon payment of a fine. It looked as if there was more thought
taken for the money to be paid for condoning the evil than for
the redress of the evil itself. 2
It was but another step in the same direction when Coventry
announced that the King had resolved to give a further exten-
sion to the writs of ship-money. On June 17 the Lord Keeper
1 Abstract of Proceedings in the Statements on behalf of the Coinmls-
sioners of Works, p. 37. Epping Forest Commission,
2 Rush-worth, ii. 333. Commission, May 8, Pat. II Charles I. Part 5.
78 THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXVII.
addressed the judges according to custom before they left
London for the summer assizes. The first part of his speech
June 27. may be accepted as an exposition of Charles's sys-
^ech'to' 5 tem of government in its ideal form. He spoke to
the judges, the judges of the care which it behoved them to
take to do equal justice between rich and poor, to guard against
' the corruptions of sheriffs and their deputies, the partiality of
jurors, the bearing and siding with men of countenance and
power in their country,' to make ' strict inquiry after depopula-
tions and inclosures, an oppression of a high nature and com-
monly done by the greatest persons that keep the juries under
and in awe, which was the cause there are no more presented
and brought in question.'
To maintain the right of the weak against the strong was,
according to Coventry, the special glory of the Crown. The
Oppression records of the Star Chamber, scanty as they are, show
to be e n eak ^ ow 'H * ts act i n could be spared in this respect. Sir
sisted. Francis Foljambe, for instance, laid claim to certain
tithes. A verdict having been given against him, he ' being a
person of great power in the country,' sent men upon the land,
who, 'riotously beat the work-folks and carried away the corn.'
Sir Henry Anderson, again, took offence against a person
named Poole for refusing to sell him a rectory, threatened to
set fire to his tenants' houses, picked a quarrel with him, and
with the help of his servants gave him a sound beating. Another
case was that of John Dunne, who ' at such time as Nathaniel
Dunne was giving evidence against him at a quarter sessions
upon an indictment for the King, did interrupt him, pinched
him backward, and struck him with his hand, and thereby en-
forced him to go away without giving evidence.' l Coventry's
practical acquaintance with such facts as these might lead him
to doubt the wisdom of placing uncontrolled supremacy in the
hands of an assembly consisting mainly of country gentlemen.
The time had now come when it would be necessary for
the King to be more than the guardian of internal peace. At
the moment at which the Lord Keeper was speaking the
French and Dutch armies were laying siege to Louvain, after
1 Jtus/Koorth, ii. App. 40, 53, 56.
163? COVENTRY CHARGES THE JUDGES. 79
the sack of Tirlemont. Was England sufficiently protected
Coventry against a similar attack? "Christendom," he said,
?io a n w to a t"e n ~ " ' s fuU f wars > an( * there is nothing but rumours of
danger of a warSi What hath been done of late years abroad
foreign
attack. by fire and sword it were a pity and grief to think
of, yet we have had the goodness of God and his Majesty's
providence all this while, and have enjoyed a most happy peace
and plenty. As it is a good precept in divinity, so it holdeth in
polity too, jam proximus ardet, which if we observe to defend
ourselves, it would be a warning to all nations, and we should
be the more assured to enjoy our peace if the wars abroad do
make us stand upon our guard at home. Therefore no question
it hath ever been accustomed the greatest wisdom for a nation
to arm that they may not be enforced to fight, which is better
than not to arm and be sure to fight."
Coventry next proceeded to speak of the fleet which was
then at sea under Lindsey's command. Even Charles's extreme
Explains the claim of the sovereignty 'of the seas was depicted
sov'ereignty Dv ^ Lord Keeper as a purely defensive measure,
of the seas. "The dominion of the sea," he said, "as it is an an-
cient and undoubted right of the Crown of England, so it is
the best security of the land. The wooden walls are the best
walls of this kingdom." A manufacturing and commercial
people would be courting ruin if the outlets of its trade were
left at the mercy of foreign nations. His Majesty had found it
absolutely necessary to increase the strength of his fleet in the
coming year. Then followed the conclusion inevitably, as it
June 17. might seem to Coventry. "Therefore," he said,
uiatsh"p- es " u P on advice he hath resolved that he will forthwith
m ne y ust send out new writs for the preparation of a greater
ail. fleet the next year ; and that not only to the maritime
towns, but to all the kingdom besides ; for since that all the
kingdom is interested both in the honour, safety, and profit, it
is just and reasonable that they should all put to their helping
hands." 1
There are moments in the life of men by which the whole
1 Rushwotth, ii. 294.
So THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXVII.
course of their future lives is sensibly affected. Looked back upon
from ami-dst the gloom of a ruined career, they stand
oftM^d"" out with awful distinctness against the background
of a forgotten past. At the time, the step taken, or
the opportunity lost, slipped by unnoticed. It was then but one
in a chain of causes and effects, with nothing in it calling for
special remark or demanding any careful or anxious considera-
tion. So it was with these words of the Lord Keeper. All that
he seemed to ask was that the charges necessary for the service
of all should be borne by all. In our days no minister would
dream of dealing with the question in any other spirit. No
Chancellor of the Exchequer would venture to impose the
charge of the navy upon Hampshire and Yorkshire whilst
Derbyshire and Worcestershire went free. Coventry's argument
that the protection of English commerce concerned the man
who kept sheep on the Cotswolds or who sat at the loom at
Leeds as much as the shipowner who sent the finished cloth
across the sea, was unanswerable.
Upon the further question of the right of the Crown to levy
money which it was undeniably desirable to levy, Coventry was
Coventry's entirely silent. It was most unlikely that others
the n ri|hTto wou ld be equally silent. The old maxim of the
levy. English constitution, that those things which were
for the good of all must be provided by the common consent
of all, would be certain to make itself heard once more. Even
if Charles had meant no more than Coventry meant, if it had
never entered into his head to employ in wanton or unwise
aggression the fleet which he needed for defence, it could never
have been safe to entrust a King with the permanent right of
maintaining an armed force which he might employ in defiance
of the express wishes of the nation. Then too there was the
further question of the right of taxation. Chafes might attempt
to explain his demand for money as a mere extension of his
right to demand personal service from everyone. The common
sense of Englishmen told them that it was not so. If money
might be levied to-day under this pretext, it might be levied
under some other pretext to-morrow. Englishmen would be
taxed, not by their representatives in Parliament, but by the
FINANCIAL IMPROVEMENT. 81
King and the Council. With the loss of control over taxa-
tion all chance of controlling the political action of the Court
would go at the same time. The nation might not always be
wise in its desires or in the remedies to which it looked. It
might cherish in its bosom men who would enlist its sympathies
for selfish ends, or who would Use the positions which they
occupied for the gratification of their avarice or their passions.
Much that Coventry and Wentworth said of the evils of popular
government was undeniably true. But the remedy which they
proposed was worse than the disease.
The extension of ship-money to the inland counties was
not the only inroad upon the property of the subject made
under the influence of the Treasury Commission.
July 16. J
increase of Portland had thought himself well off to be able
to collect tonnage and poundage very much as it
had been collected by his predecessors. There had been an
additional impost upon tobacco, and an additional export duty
upon coals, with the view of keeping that precious mineral from
finding its way abroad. Besides these and a few other trifling
exceptions, whatever increase of revenue derived from customs
there was, was due to the growth of commerce and not to
increase of taxation.
The average ordinary revenue of the Crown, calculated on
the five years ending in December 1635, was about 6i8,ooo/-
Revenueof The same revenue in 1623 had been 570,0007.,
the Crown, showing, if allowance be made for the difference of
form in which the accounts were rendered, an increase of
no more than 48,ooo/. in eight years. Of this difference, only
5,ooo/. is to be set down to the account of customs duties of
various kinds, the remaining 43,ooo/. having been obtained from
other sources, 15,0007. for instance, being set down to the Court
of Wards, and 8,4oo/. being the amount of additional payments
secured from recusants alone. The annual deficit
on the ordinary account was i8,ooo/., the whole of
the ordinary expenditure being calculated at 636,0007.
If therefore the Soap Company fulfilled its promises, in
spite of Laud's doubts, the ordinary expenditure would be
more than covered. It does not follow that there would have
VOL. VIII. G
82 THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONK Y. CH. LXXVII.
been a real balance between revenue and expenditure. Be-
sides the ordinary budget, there was a budget of ex-
ordinary traordinary receipts and payments. During the ten
years of Charles's reign which ended in the spring
of 1635, the extraordinary payments had reached 2,847,5977.,
whilst the extraordinary receipts had reached only 2,596,3057.,
leaving a sum of 251,2927. to be covered by the constant
anticipation of the revenue of future years. The extraordinary
expenditure had been to a great extent caused by the expenses
of the war at the beginning of the reign; but it was by no
means limited to those expenses, and it is probable that an
additional ioo,ooo/. at least would have been needed to pro-
duce an actual balance of the revenue and expenditure. Be-
sides this, the debt still requiring payment stood at 1,173,19s/. 1
Such was the result of the thorough investigation into the
financial state of the exchequer upon which Laud had insisted.
Long before it was completed, the need of money
Customs had driven the Treasury Commissioners to make
fresh demands upon the nation. As in the case of
ship-money, Coventry was employed to put the best possible
face upon the business. On May 28 he had announced to the
Privy Council that ' for the better balancing of trade in relation
to the impositions in foreign parts upon the native commodities
of this kingdom, it was advisable to draw up a new book of
rates.' The new book of rates resulted in an augmentation of
the duties levied estimated at no less than 7o,ooo/. 2 If Laud
and his colleagues were to proceed in this fashion, it was certain
that if Parliament ever met again in time of peace, the power
of the purse would no longer be in the hands of the House of
Commons.
1 See the financial tables in the Appendix. Ranke's statement (Engl.
tr. ii. 31) that the interest absorbed the greater portion of the revenue is
in glaring contradiction with his own figures. On the forced loan, besides,
no interest was paid, and some of the rest was in the same condition.
Where interest was payable, it does not follow that it was paid.
2 Council Register, May 18. Estimate of the revenue from customs,
July 1 6, .9. P. Dom. ccxciii. 127. The whole revenue from customs is
\here reckoned at 35O,ooo/., or more than half of the receipts.
1635 FOREIGN COMPLICATIONS. 83
Would peace, however, be maintained ? The cloud which,
whilst Coventry was speaking to the judges, overhung the
Spanish Netherlands had passed away, and Charles
comjlfica. was able complacently to inform Necolalde that his
fleet had contributed, by its protection of Dunkirk, to
so desirable a result. 1 But behind the question of the Nether-
lands lay the question of the Palatinate, which Charles could
The Paia- neither let alone nor take up effectively. The news
tmate agam. o f t h e exclusion of his nephew from the benefit of
the Peace of Prague touched him deeply, and his sister had
been still more affected by it. Once more she appealed to
him for active assistance. The treaty, she said, would open his
eyes, and the eyes of all in England, ' if they be not shot out
with pistols.' 2 In the Foreign Committee, however, pacific
counsels prevailed, and in this respect Laud was likely to meet
with no opposition from Cottington or Windebank, upon whom
the conduct of the secret negotiations with Spain now ex-
clusively devolved. The young Elector would complete his
eighteenth year in the winter, and it was thought right in
England that, before taking up arms, he should make a formal
offer of his submission to the Emperor, and should demand in
return to be invested with his father's lands and dignities, in
order that no prejudice might follow the neglect of such legal
formalities. Charles thus found an excuse for reconciling
the duty of aiding his nephew with his desire to do nothing at
all. In vain his wife painted in brilliant colours the advantages
of an alliance with France. In his letters to his sister he
explained that it was better for him not to avail himself of the
overtures of the French too soon. By delaying a little he
might force them ' to unmask and deal plainly upon more equal
terms.' It was at last arranged that Lord Aston the Sir
Walter Aston of James's reign should go as ambassador to
Madrid, and that John Taylor, half a Spaniard himself by birth,
i Necolalde to Onate, ^4o' S. P. Spain.
1 Elizabeth to Roe, July 2, S. P. Dom. ccxciii. 14.
G 2
84 THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXVII.
should be despatched to Vienna, to feel his way with the
Emperor before a formal embassy was sent. l
When the first writ of ship-money was issued, the intention
of Charles was to use his fleet against the Dutch in alliance
with Spain. Now that the second writ, with its far
What was . , . . . _ ,. ,
Charles's larger demands upon the patience of Englishmen,
was preparing for issue, he had no decided policy of
any kind. He was equally ready to employ his fleet against
France in alliance with Spain, or to employ it against Spain in
alliance with France. Whether he was to take one side or the
other was to depend not on any consideration affecting the
interests of England, still less on any consideration affecting
the interests of humanity, but simply on considerations touch-
ing the personal interests of his nephew.
No stirring appeal to the English people to accompany the
call upon their purses was therefore possible. In the writ
issue of the which came forth on August 4, the demand was
of C sh n ip- wnt justified on the ground ' that as all are concerned in
money. tne mutual defence of one another, so all might put
to their helping hands for the making of such preparations as,
by the blessing of God, may secure this realm against those
dangers and extremities which have distressed other nations,
and are the common effects of war whensoever it taketh a
people unprepared.'
From these words it was evident that Charles contemplated
not a temporary measure to resist a sudden danger, but a
The funda- permanent taxation to oppose any possible risk from
mental laws. a hostile force. Why then, men naturally asked one
another, was not the nation itself consulted? Why was not
Parliament summoned to provide a remedy for the evil ? A
phrase which sprung into existence in these first days of doubt
and hesitation had a long and brilliant future before' it. The
new writ, it was said, violated the fundamental laws of England.
It mattered little that no one could point out what those funda-
mental laws were, any more than their ancestors could have
pointed out precisely what were the laws of Edward or Edgar
1 Coke to Boswell, July 30, S. P. Holland.
1635 SPREAD OF DISSATISFACTION. 85
the renewal of which they claimed. What they meant was
that the English people had never entirely relinquished their
control over their own destinies, nor had ever so put themselves
like sheep into the hands of any king as to suffer themselves
to be tended or shorn at his arbitrary will. Not in statute
or precedent, not even in the Great Charter itself, but in the
imperishable vitality of the nation, lay the fundamental laws of
England.
The phrase which was soon to become so familiar seems to
have started into life amongst those courtiers of the Queen who
were calling for a Parliament to force upon the King a French
alliance. 1 It was, however, easily repeated, and it soon became
the watchword of the common feeling of dissatisfaction which
was slowly spreading over the kingdom.
As yet, as far as we can judge, the feeling which prevailed
with respect to the King was still one rather of dissatisfaction
Feeling of than of positive disapprobation. He had not com-
the nation. mitted the nation to any action which was distinctly
unpopular. The fleet which had kept the sea during the sum-
mer had done but little, good or bad. Nor was the pecuniary
pressure of the ship-money great enough to be felt as crushing.
The sum required was 208,9007., or about two-thirds of the
sum levied by gift of Parliament in the year in which the
Petition of Right had been granted, and only exceeding by
about 7o,ooo/. the annual average of the amount levied in
subsidies during the first four years of the reign. 2 The real
grievance beyond that which attends any demand whatever for
money was that the King had deliberately treated the nation
as a stranger to his counsels, and that if his claim to levy money
by his own authority were once admitted the door would be
opened to other demands of which it was impossible to foresee
the limits.
1 Salvetti, in his .Vews- Letter of Q ept ' ? , ascribes it to the Puritans, but
the Queen's party at Court were Puritans in his vocabulary, and I fancy
from his language that these are intended by him.
2 The subsidies collected since the beginning of the reign were
6i2,387/. The result given above is obtained by allowing 52,ooo/. foi
ariears left uncollected after March 1629.
36 THE SECOND WRIT OF SH IP-MO NE Y. CH. i.xxvu.
The growing impression that Charles was using technical
law to secure possession of absolute power received some
August. aliment from the persistency with which he con-
Hoiiandin tinued to urge his forest claims. Holland had
the New
Forest. held his court at Winchester, and had struck at a
victim more likely to make his voice heard at Court than the
Essex landowners had been. The young Earl of Southampton
was called in question for a great part of his estate at Beaulieu,
and it was said that if sentence were given against him his
income would be reduced by 2,ooo/. In October
the blow fell. It was not likely that the King would
prove inexorable to the Earl's petitions for relief ; and in fact
Charles, after keeping him nine months in suspense, issued a
pardon by which all future claims of the Crown were aban-
doned. 1 It was none the less annoying to Southampton to be
reduced to beg for the restitution of that which, but for the quirks
of the lawyers, he might fairly regard as his own property. 2
The view which Charles took of these forest claims was one
which would bring more odium upon his government than the
benefit which he derived from them was worth. In
September.
Commission September he issued a commission to Holland and
and Essex others, authorising them to grant pardons for en-
croachments upon Dean and Essex Forests to those
who were willing to pay a moderate sum into the exchequer,
and even to proceed to their disaftbrestation, if they could
obtain the assent of those who were most interested in the
measure. 3 If, therefore, Charles was far from converting his
claims into engines of tyrannical oppression, or from wishing to
draw from his subjects those enormous sums with which history
has credited his memory, he allowed himself, for the sake of a
few thousand pounds to be regarded as a greedy and litigious
landlord rather than as a just ruler or as a national King. Every
man who would have to draw from his purse the small sum
needed to satisfy the royal demand, knew that the claim itself
1 Pardon, July 8, 1636, Patent Rolls, 12 Charh-s /., Part 2O.
2 Garrard to Wentworth, Oct. 3, Strojford Letters, i. 467. That sen-
tance was given agaif st him is proved by his subsequent pardon.
* Commission, Sept. 28, Kyniet, xix. 688.
1635 RICHMOND PARK. 87
was founded on no broad principles of justice. He learned
to regard his sovereign as an unfortunate suitor regards a
sharp-witted and unprincipled attorney, who has succeeded in
plundering him through his superior knowledge of legal tech-
nicalities.
All this while the struggle between Laud and Cottington at
the Treasury Commission was being carried on as vigorously
Cottington as ever - Cottington had actually succeeded in
wit f h V the r bringing round the Queen to his side, partly perhaps
Queen. by holding up Wentworth's invincible probity as a
bar to her hopes of obtaining good things for herself and her
family, partly too by his lavish offers to support the French
alliance, which he was secretly doing his best to undermine. 1
Laud, moreover, was at the disadvantage of having as yet no
candidate of his own to propose who was likely to be accept-
able to the King, now that it had become less probable than
ever that WenUorth, with the work of carrying out the plan-
tation of Connaught before him, would be able to relinquish his
post in Ireland. Even the King, much as he esteemed Laud,
was not insensible to his rival's compliant flattery. Ever since
the preceding year he had been bent upon enlarging
Richmond * , 111-
Park to be Richmond Park, and had issued a commission to
compound with the owners of lands within the pro-
jected boundary. 2 Some of these owners refused to part with
their property, and Charles, impatient of resistance to his wishes,
ordered that a brick wall should at once be built round the
circuit of the new park, thus cutting them off from the surround-
ing country and depriving them of the value of their land. To
August. Laud the whole scheme was most distasteful. Not
Laud pro- on i y fa<\ it infringe upon the rights of property, but
tests against
the expense, it would entail an expense of many thousand pounds.
What hope was there of effecting a balance between the re-
venue and the expenditure, if Charles could not control his desire
for personal gratification ? When the demand for the money
was brought before the Treasury Board, the Archbishop opposed
1 Seneterre's despatches are full of the intrigues of ' ce fourbe de
Cottington,' as he calls him.
2 Commission, Dec. 12, 1634. Kymer, xix. 585.
38 THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MOKE Y. CH. LXXVIL
it stoutly. These were not times, he said, for the King to spend
anything in buildings of mere show. He was much astonished
to find that there were men who had put such thoughts into his
Majesty's head. Cottington, who knew himself to be aimed at,
and who had privately remonstrated with the King in the same
sense as Laud, nevertheless saw an opportunity of currying
favour with Charles by appearing in his defence. They were
not there, he said, to discuss whether his Majesty's intention
were good or bad, but simply to put it into execution. As for
himself, he did not think that the King was so poor as not to
be able to meet a demand made on him for his own private
pleasure, even if it entailed considerable expense. It was he
who had advised his Majesty to do what he had done, knowing
that there was nothing wrong in it. Laud, hearing this as-
tounding confession, reproached Cottington bitterly, and the
The King sitting broke up in confusion. When Charles heard
ofh!s P con" s wnat had passed he only laughed at Laud for being
duct. S o easily taken in, and showed more favour than ever
to Cottington. There were those who thought that he was
secretly pleased to find a servant who was ready to tell a false-
hood in order to take upon his own shoulders the blame which
ought to have devolved on his master. 1
Laud had the mortification of seeing the continuance of the
expense ; io,9oo/. were paid during the next six months for
building the wall, and the compensation of the owners
October. . '
Cottington of the soil would be likely to cost much more. Cot-
ofthe frea r - e tington was in higher favour than ever. In the be-
gi nn i n g o f October it was almost universally believed
at Court that he had secured the Treasury. 2 The discovery
that Charles was not to be depended on in resisting extra-
1 The story told by Clarendon (i. 208) is demonstrably placed at a
wrong date, and differs in most particulars from that told by Correr in his
despatch of Aug. -r. Still they are manifestly two forms of the same story,
and I have not hesitated to give the preference to the contemporary nar-
rative. borrowing a point here and there from Clarendon.
* Wotton to Cottington, Oct. 4, 5". P. Dom, ccxcix. 4 ; Correr to
the Doge, Oct. , Yen. MSS.
1635 SELF-INTEREST. 89
vagance was a heavy blow for Laud. " Now," he wrote, in
commenting on Windebank's opposition, "the course hath
fallen out otherwise with me, and so as I little expected, for
I have all fair carriage and all other respects in private, but
Laud's m tne public he joins with Cottington ; insomuch
complaints, j.]-^ m f ne soa p business, where I thought I had all
reason on my side, I was deserted, and the opposite assisted
by him ; and not in this alone, but in the Commission for the
Treasury, Windebank went stiffly, with Cottington and the rest,
that it was not fit, nor no good could come of it, that the King
should know his own estate. Now the thing that troubles me
is this, that all should be as fair, and as much profession as
ever, and a desertion of me in such open, honourable, and just
ways as this." Such is the picture of Charles's Court drawn by
Charles's most devoted supporter. "I am alone," he said," in
those things which draw not private profit after them." '
The antagonism between the two men and the two systems
which they advocated came to its height in the Star Chamber.
Case of Pell A certain Sir Anthony Pell had long had claims
fiTthfstar against the Crown, and had found it impossible to
Chamber. obtain from the late Treasurer a sum of 6,ooo/. which
was due to him. In his difficulty he appealed to Eliot's old
enemy, Sir James Bagg, who had transferred his fawning servility
to Portland after Buckingham's death. Bagg recommended
him to bribe the Treasurer, and offered himself as the medium
of the operation. On this pretext he drew from him no less a
sum than 2,5007. After some time spent in fresh supplications
for payment, Pell, finding himself no nearer his end than he
had been before, charged Bagg in the Star Chamber with ap-
propriating the money himself. Bagg replied that he had paid
it over to Portland, and had no further responsibility
Nov. ii. * *
The court When the day of sentence arrived, Laud and his
friends took the part of Pell, on the ground that,
even if Portland had had the money, Bagg deserved punish-
ment as a broker of bribery, whilst Cottington warmly sup-
ported Bagg. In the end the court was equally divided, and
1 Laud to Wentworth, Oct. 4, Laud's Works, vii. 171.
90 THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONE Y. CH. LXXVII.
judgment was only given for Pell by the casting vote of the
Lord Keeper. 1
It was startling that nine out of eighteen Privy Councillors
should have rallied to the defence of such a transaction. Still
Arguments more startling were some of the arguments by which
f e S nce'of de * they supported their vote. " Suppose," said Cotting-
Ba sg- ton of Bagg, " that he had the money, is it a crime if
a man undertake to effect a business for another ? " "I do not
think it to be a crime," said Dorset, " for a courtier that comes
up to Court for his Majesty's service, and lives at great expense
by his attendance, to receive a reward to get a business done by
a great man in power." Windebank followed in words which
are enough to show that Laud's estrangement from him arose
from a difference which went deeper than any mere divergence
of opinion on the soap business. " For the bill itself," he said,
in speaking of Pell's complaint, " I hold it precisely a most
scandalous defamatory libel. ... I do hold the main intent
and scope of the plaintiff was most maliciously to defame the
Lord Treasurer, and under colour of clearing him, to wound
his honour through the sides of his kinsmen, his friends, his
two secretaries ; and, rather than this bhould fail, to bring into
public agitation and question his Majesty's affairs and debts,
which in my poor opinion is of exceeding dangerous conse-
quence, and all the good that would come of the punishment
of Sir James Bagg, were he as foul as they would make him, is
not to be put in the balance with the detriment that by the
Laud's precedent may come to the King's service." 2 Laud's
reply. reply was crushing. " If the Lord Treasurer have a
near kinsman, or secretary, or any other employed for him, if
1 Rushworth, ii. 303. On Laud's side were Finch, Bramston, Coke,
Vane, Newburgh, Holland, Lindsey, and Coventry ; on Cottington's,
Windebank, Juxon, Carlisle, Dorset, Arundel, Lennox. Manchester, Neile.
It is strange to find the two bishops on Cottington's side. The judges,
however, are in their place in voting with Laud. They wished to establish
something very like absolute monarchy in England, but they wished it to
be free from corruption.
' J Windehank's notes, Oct. 23, Nov. 4, 6, u, S. P. Dom. ccc. 34,
ccci. 13, 27, 56.
1635 BAGG'S ESCAPE. 91
those men shall be corrupt, or do those acts which shall make
the world believe it is so, it shall be as much as if they were
really guilty. For by this means the people will run on with
an opinion of bribery and corruprion. They cannot have it
out of this great man's hand, but they must go that way of
bribery to the secretary for it. It shall not only bring great
men into despite, who perhaps never heard of it, but men when
they cannot have their money without going this way care not
what they do." Of Bagg himself he spoke as he deserved.
"See," he said, "the many letters he writ, 'James Bagg, your
most real friend.'' Your business will be better done if you
leave it to your friend, James Bagg.' Here is his hand against
his oath and his oath against his hand. He is a most base
fellow to say ' Your most real friend,' and to serve Sir Anthony
as he did. I have now done with that bottomless bag, and with
my censure." !
Once more Laud failed to carry the King with him. Charles
could not bear to punish a man who had devoted himself to
Charles his service. He refused to inflict any penalty what-
mfnisli l ever u P on B a gg> and he left him in possession of the
Ba gg- governorship of the fort at Plymouth. Such weak-
ness was in truth an abdication of the higher duties of govern-
ment which went far to justify the rising distrust of the Royal
authority. Laud and Wentworth and Coventry might talk as
loudly as they pleased about the duty of submission to his
Majesty. The man who condoned the offences of Bagg was
deficient in the elementary qualities by which respect is secured
for a ruler.
Yet if Charles was not sufficiently impressed by the evidence
produced at the trial to punish the culprit, he learned enough
Cottmgton's to niake him hesitate whether it would be prudent
chance of the to entrust the Treasurer's staff to Cottington's hands.
1 1 easurer* *-*
ship. A month before it had been believed that his ap-
pointment was certain. The end of November found the office
still vacant.
Opposed as Laud and Cottington were, they agreed in
1 Land's Works, vL 29.
$2 THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXVII.
urging on the collection of ship-money. In the sheriffs and
November J nst i ces f tne peace the King had his representa-
Coiiection of tives in every county of England. To the sheriffs
>ney> especially, the work of conducting the assessment was
committed, and they were directed to take account of personal
as well as of real property, so as to bring the new levy into
truer proportion to the actual income of the contributors than
that of the old subsidies had been. For. some time very few
ventured to attack the imposition as illegal, but the very novelty
of the mode of assessment offered an excuse for complaints.
The work had to be done suddenly and speedily, and all over
England the sheriffs were overwhelmed* with outcries against
the unfairness of their decisions. Every hundred, every village
in the country had excellent reasons to show why it should pay
less than others, and though there was seldom anything said
in these complaints in any way inconsistent with an acknow-
ledgment of the King's right to claim payment, the agitation
would be certain to predispose those who took part in it to
listen eventually to bolder spirits who might declare the demand
in itself unwarranted.
Much depended on the character of the sheriffs. In
Lancashire, Humphrey Chetham, whose name will ever be
Humphrey honoured in Manchester, was sheriff for the year.
Chetham. jje sent at once for the mayors and constables,
settled the assessment in a rough and ready fashion, refused
to listen to excuses, and collected and sent up the money to
Whitehall before the year was at an end. l
Few of the sheriffs were so prompt or masterful as Chetham.
Letters full of difficulties about the assessments poured in
upon the Council. Edward Nicholas, who was now
Difficulties
of the secretary to the Commissioners of the Admiralty,
was appointed to carry on the correspondence, and
iii e cteford? to give an account of it to the Council at its weekly
Sunday meeting. 2 The first sign of a direct oppo-
tion to the ship-money upon principle came from the hundred
1 Chetham to the Council, Dec. 16. Printed in the preface to Bruce's
Calendar of S. P. Dam. 163.5.
* Council Register^ Nov. 8.
1635 RESISTANCE TO SHIP-MONEY. 93
of Bloxham in Oxfordshire. In that hundred lay Broughion,
where was the estate of Lord Saye and Sele, who was dis-
tinguished alike for the strength and pertinacity of his Puri-
tanism and for the doggedness with which he turned to account
every legal weapon which might serve his cause. Close by,
too, though not actually within the hundred, was Banbury, that
most Puritan of Puritan towns, in which, according to a jest
which obtained some circulation, men were in the habit of
hanging their cats on Monday for catching mice on Sunday. 1
To the chief constables of this hundred Sir Peter Wentworth,
the sheriff of the county, made out his warrant directing them
to summon the discreetest men of the hundred to assess upon
the inhabitants the 2ogl. charged on them. The reply he re-
ceived, which was probably suggested by Lord Saye, was that
' upon good consideration had,' they thought they had ' no
authority to assess or tax any man, neither ' did ' they con-
ceive the warrant ' gave ' them any power so to do,' and there-
fore they did ' humbly beg to be excused in and about executing
the said service.' A second warrant produced no more satis-
factory answer. In Banbury hundred the constable of a tithing
absolutely refused to make any return of the names of those
who would not pay. The sheriff forwarded these answers to
the Council, with the suggestion that the constables should
be called before the Board. 2 But the Council was in no hurry
to be brought into personal collision with these men. Went-
worth was directed to make the assessment himself. The
principle thus adopted of making the sheriffs personally re-
sponsible was maintained to the end, and their diligent if not
their zealous co-operation was thus enlisted in the service of the
Remissness Court. The London sheriffs, who had been slow in
m London, carrying out their assessment, were summoned at the
same time before the Council, and were ordered to attend every
Sunday to give an account of their proceedings till they had
completed their task. 3
1 Branthwait's Drunken Barnaby.
2 Wentworth to the Council, Nov. 27 (?), S. P. Dom. cccii. 90. The
certificates from Bloxham are enclosed, dated Oct. 19 and Nov. 2.
1 Minutes by Nicholas, Nov. 29, S. P. Dom. cccii. 90.
94 THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXVII.
In Essex, too, some of the constables refused to assess. In
Devonshire the sheriff reported his fears that at least in some
cases it would be necessary to have recourse to dis-
Refusal to .... ,
assess in traint and imprisonment. As yet, however, such
direct refusal was exceptional, and the Council had
no reason to apprehend that it wou^d be generally imitated.
Still, there was opposition enough to create an uneasy
feeling. Charles directed Finch to ask the opinion of the
judges on the legality of the step which he had
The judges taken. Finch afterwards declared thut he 'did never
use the least promise of preferment or reward to any,
nor did use the least menace.' 2 It is likely enough that this
was the case. It was unnecessary to remind the judges which
way the King's wishes lay, and most of them were inclined by
their own temperament to take the same view of the case as
that which had been adopted by Coventry and Finch.
Without much delay Finch brought back the signatures of
ten of the twelve judges to the following answer : "I am of
Opinion of opinion that as where the benefit doth more particu-
the judges. j ar ]y re( j oun( j to the ports or maritime parts, as in
the case of piracy or depredations on the seas, there the charge
hath been and may lawfully be imposed upon them according
to precedents of former times ; so where the good and safety
of the kingdom in general is concerned, and the whole kingdom
in danger of which his Majesty is the only judge there the
charge of the defence ought to be borne by all the kingdom in
general." 3
Of the two judges whose names were not appended
H r utto n a do to the paper, Croke gave a guarded opinion that
when the whole kingdom was in danger, the defence
1 Report of the Sheriff of Essex, Nov. 15. The Sheriff of Devonshire
to Nicholas, Nov. 26, S. P. Dom. ccci. 96, cccii. 87.
2 I\'ushu'orth, iii. 126.
* Bramstori 's Autobiography (Camden Soc.), 66. Probably he found
the paper amongst the MSS. of his father the judge. He says that all the
judges signed, but Finch's evidence (Rush-worth, 126) that two did not is
lo be preferred, as he had better opportunities for knowing, and was not
likely to have misstated a fact which must have been notorious.
1635 OPINION OF THE JUDGES. 95
thereof ought to be borne by all,' without reference to the
quarter from which the demand should come. Hutton did
not sign at all.
It is impossible to dive into the hearts of the ten judges
who decided for the King. The knowledge that their tenure
of office depended on his favour may not have been
The legal . . *
view of the altogether without its influence, an influence probably
entirely unacknowledged by themselves. But it is
only fair to allow much more than it has been the habit ol
historians to allow for the difficulty of answering the question
put to them in any other way, without admitting, on the one
hand, political considerations into a legal opinion, or abandon-
ing, on the other hand, that view of the constitution which they
had themselves so frequently defended.
The only part of their opinion, indeed, which was in any
way subject to doubt was that which asserted the King to be
the sole judge of the danger. For the politician the solution of
the difficulty was not hard to find. It was not unreason-
able to hold in the seventeenth century that if danger were
really to come suddenly and unexpectedly, the King would be
authorised, just as the Cabinet would be authorised in the
nineteenth century, to take any steps which might be neces-
sary for the safety of the State, without regard for the restraints
of law ; and that, as such steps would have to be taken in a
moment of confusion when there was no time to summon a
Parliament, the King must of necessity be the sole judge of the
danger, for meeting which he was alone responsible. It was
also not unreasonable to hold that in cases where the dan-
ger was likely to develop itself more slowly, he would be bound
to apply to Parliament for the special powers which he
thought himself to stand in need of. Yet not only was it
difficult to discover a legal formula which would distinguish
between sudden danger and danger of a more deliberate kind,
but the training of the judges had not been such as to lead
them to look with favour upon any attempt to circumscribe the
prerogative. The fact was, not that Charles had assumed to
himself a right of judging of the danger which had never been
claimed by his predecessors, but that he had stretched that
96 THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXVIL
right immeasurably beyond the limits within which their good
sense had confined it. They had called upon their subjects to
follow them when an attack from an enemy was apprehended,
and they had sometimes exaggerated the danger in order to
serve their own ends. Charles, with no immediate risk in
view, had rightly judged that there was a necessity of per-
manently increasing the defensive forces of the realm, and had
imposed upon the kingdom a tax which he intended to make
permanent in order to free himself from the necessity of calling
a Parliament.
Once more, behind all the legal arguments about ship-
money rose the great question which had risen behind the legal
is PaiHa- arguments about tonnage and poundage : Was Par-
stftuentpart nament a constituent part of the Government or
of the state? not ? Could it use its rights in order to force its
policy upon the King, or was the King justified in falling
back upon his ancient, and more than his ancient, prerogative,
in order to maintain his own policy in spite of the objections
of his subjects ? In plain words, the question was whether the
King or Parliament was to be supreme in the State. This
broad view of the case could not fail to force itself more and
more plainly on the eyes of all men. Lawyers might declaim
about the prerogatives of the Crown as they had been handed
down from the Middle Ages. Common sense would teach
the mass of the nation that the practical extent of the preroga-
tive had by no means coincided with its theoretical extent,
and that there had been all sorts of regular and irregular in-
fluences by which it had been kept in check, which might not
come within the purview of the judges, but which it was the
duty of the existing generation of Englishmen to refurbish or to
replace.
Surely Charles was right, though in a sense higher than he
thought, in judging that danger was abroad ; but it was not a
where was danger from a foreign enemy. It lay in the rending
the danger? asun d e r of the old ties which in old days had bound
to the kings of England the hearts of their subjects, and against
this danger neither ship-money nor ships themselves would be
of any avail.
i63S FRESH OVERTURES FROM FRANCE. 97
Such far-reaching considerations, however, were beyond
Charles's ken. His mind was set on the attempt to turn the
fleet which he had acquired at the risk of such
August.
Prospects weakening of the basis of his authority, to some
leet * practical service to himself. Immediately after the
issue of the writs, he assured the Spanish Government that if
they were still ready to find the money, he was ready to go on
Charles' w ^ t ^ 6 treatv ^ the preceding year, while Taylor, who
offers to was about to set out for Vienna, was directed to offer
th P e a Em? to the Emperor the alliance of England if he would
give satisfaction in respect to the Palatinate. 1 As
before, negotiations with France accompanied negotiations with
Spain. The Queen, in her husband's name, urged Seneterre to
take up the broken thread once more. Seneterre answered drily,
that it would be better for him to hold his peace than again to
go through the form of exchanging words without a meaning.
Richelieu decided otherwise. If Charles would simply engage
to abstain from helping Spain, would lend his fleet to
September. , . , , , , , ,
Richelieu's his nephew, and would allow Louis to levy volunteers
in his dominions, France would engage not to make
peace without the restitution of the Palatinate, though the
question of the Electorate was to be reserved for the final
determination of the Electors. 2 Seneterre saw clearly that
Charles's real wishes were that everything should be done for
him, and little or nothing by him. " If," wrote the ambassador,
" the war could be eternal, and if both we and the Spaniards
could be equally ruined, it would, be the joy of his heart." 3
Oct. 21. Charles, as it proved, had nothing but fault to find with
proposes a the proposals made to him. He had, however, a coun-
change 1 of" ter-proposal of his own. As the Emperor had seized
Lorraine fa e Palatinate, France had seized Lorraine. Let the
and the '
Palatinate. Emperor and France make restitution of their prey,
and peace would be restored. He would himself be ready to
1 Instructions to Aston and Taylor, Aug. 15, C/ar. S. P. i. 306, 310.
* Seneterre to Bouthillier, Aug. --. Memoir for Seneterre, Sept. i-
Bibl Nat. Fr. 15,993.
Seneterre to Bouthillier, -. &<*
VOL. VIII. H
98 THE SECOND WRIT OF SH1P-MONE Y. CH. LXXVII
show favour to that power which was the first to give way.
Seneterre positively refused to transmit such a project to his
master, and Charles was obliged to send it through his own
ambassador. Richelieu did not even think the suggestion
worthy of a reply. l
The formal justice of the arrangement had taken possession
of Charles's mind. He did not see that a question of territory
cannot be decided as a right to an estate is decided. If one
landowner is adjudged to surrender a field to another, the loss
sustained by him is limited to the actual diminution of hig
estate. The same authority which has deprived him of part of
his possessions will secure him in the enjoyment of the rest.
There is no authority in existence to prevent a State which has
acquired land by conquest or cession from using it as a vantage
ground from which to carry on a further attack. If Ferdinand
were to restore the Palatinate to the young Charles Lewis, who
was to assure him that the Palatinate would not again become
a focus of intrigue against the Emperor ? If Louis were to
restore Lorraine to its own Duke, who was to assure him that
Lorraine would not again become a focus of intrigue against
France ? If indeed France and the Empire with Spain at its back
could lay aside all hostile intentions, it would matter little what
petty prince was in command at Heidelberg or at Nancy. But
the real quarrel was between France and Spain, and Charles's
proposal did not even attempt to remove the causes which had
brought about the war between the two Western monarchies.
The scheme had, in fact, been suggested to Charles by the
Queen. It originated in aims which were purely personal. She
wanted to be on good terms with Richelieu, in order
iuggLwdby to obtain from him the liberation of the Chevalier de
ie Queen. j ars ^ &n( j to secure her mo ther's return to France and
the restitution of the Duchess of Chevreuse to Parisian life. She
also hoped by obtaining the restoration of the Duke of Lorraine
to give complete satisfaction to the whole circle of her mother's
friends. For once the impulsive personal feelings of the Queen
were in accord with the cold formal judgment of her husband.
1 Proposition of the King, Oct. ". Seneterre to Bouthillier, Nov. ~
BibL Nat. Fr. 15,993.
163 5 THE YOUNG ELECTOR PALATINE. 99
One had just as little hold as the other on the realities of life.
Her confidant Holland urged Seneterre to accept the
plan, not because it was likely to effect a peace, but
because the Emperor was sure to refuse to fulfil his part of the
bargain, and Charles would then throw himself into the arms of
France from pique at the refusal. 1
In the midst of these intrigues, the young Elector Palatine
suddenly made his appearance at the English Court. Elizabeth
NOV. 21. trusted that her son's innocent boyish face would work
Pafattne ^ wonders at Whitehall. Charles had given his consent
England. {Q {-fog v ' ls i^ an d both he and the Queen received the
lad with the most affectionate welcome ; but the cause which
he came to plead was injured rather than advanced by his pre-
The French sence. Already in the Netherlands, Elizabeth had
acknowledge quarrelled with Charnace", the French ambassador at
his title. the Hague, for refusing to give the title of Electoral
Highness to her son. To allow the insult to pass unchallenged
was, she said, to acknowledge her husband to have been legally
proscribed. " Believe me," she declared to the ambassador,
" neither fair means nor foul shall ever make me do anything
that shall give the least touch to the King my husband's honour ;
I will sooner see all my children lie dead before me rather than
do it, and if any of them be so desperate as to consent to any such
thing, I will give them my curse." 2 A demand which sat well
on the lips of a high-spirited widow might accord ill with the exi-
They refuse gencies of a statesman. Charles, however, was as reso-
to do so. i ute as his s i s ter had been. The French ambassadors
replied that they were quite ready to address the King's nephew
as his Highness, but that they could not style him his Electoral
Highness. 3 Their Government supported them in their refusal.
The King of France had deliberately announced his intention of
referring the question of the Palatine Electorate to the decision
of the Electors, and he knew better than to raise up enemies in
Germany for the shadowy chance of making an ally of Charles.
1 Seneterre to Bouthillier, Nov. ^|, Bibl. Nat. Fr. 15,993.
* Boswell to the King, March, 5. P. Holland.
1 Seneterre to Bouthillier, ^. ov " 25 . Bouthillier to Seneterre, *J V ' 7?
Ucc. 5 Ucc 7i
Bibl. Nat. Fr. 15,993.
H a
ioo THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXVII.
Necolalde saw his opportunity. He knew perfectly well that
none of the allies of Spain were likely to take oflfence at any
Dec. i. words which he might employ for the purpose of
^ves'the" hoodwinking the King of England. He accordingly
title - asked for an audience, and addressing Charles Lewis
in a loud and deliberate voice as "Your Electoral Highness,"
proceeded to congratulate him on having left a rebellious
country, and to assure him that his interests were better
attended to in Spain than he imagined. 1
Necolalde gained his object. Charles stiffly rejected all
proposals made to him by the French. At a meeting of the
Committee of Foreign Affairs he openly spoke of
Charlesturns ~ , __ ., . . . .
against the Seneterre as a cheat. Hamilton truly said that
Necolalde only spoke as a courtier. " I esteem him
all the more," replied the King, " for his courtesy and good-
will He behaves like a Spaniard, and the Spaniards are my
friends on whom I can rely. All the rest is deception and
villainy. I thank God that I have been so much the master
of myself that, with continual temptations for two years, I have
not given way to those who prefer dissension and hostility in
Christendom to peace." 2
That Charles would render any real service to peace might
be doubted. For the present, at least, he was giving immense
Money sent ne ^P to one P ar ty m the war. A ship of the fleet
to Flanders. wn ich had convoyed his ambassador to Spain re-
turned with loojooo/. in Spanish coin, and landed it safely at
Dunkirk for the payment of the Cardinal Infant's army. 3
In the meanwhile Taylor had been taking his journey to
learn whether the Palatinate was to drop into Charles's lap or
not. On November 12 he arrived at Vienna. "Ger-
Nov. n.
Taylor at many," he wrote, " the greatest and whilom the fairest
country of Europe, is now the most miserable, and
looks hideous to the eye . . . From Cologne unto Passau I
saw nothing but desolation ; the people being almost dead,
1 Correr to the Doge, Dec. ^, Ven. MSS.
Necolalde to the Cardinal Infant, Dec. -, Sruss^s MSS. I can
only give the translation of a translation
Windebank to Flopton, Dec. 20, Clar. S. P. i. 389.
1635 TAYLOR AT VIENNA. 101
and no corn sown for next year, so that it is feared that even
those few that survive will perish through famine and hunger."
Taylor, himself a Roman Catholic, and half a Spaniard by
birth, felt too little interest in the cause which he had come
December, to advocate to be otherwise than hopeful of success.
pe h ror E g 7v'es " The Emperor," he wrote, " hath again, at the King's
hopes request, set open the gates of his mercy ; " he would
doubtless restore the Lower Palatinate, and everything else
1636. would follow in due time. According to his instruc-
Tayio^ 7 tions Taylor held out hopes of a league between his
thinks well master and the House of Austria. The idea, he re-
of the pros- . .
pect. ported, was favourably received. Even Maximilian
of Bavaria had talked of giving up such lands as he held in the
Lower Palatinate. If only the young heir would visit Vienna
and marry the Emperor's daughter, and if the English fleet
were really used for an attack upon France, some concessions
might be made in Germany. 1 On January 4 the
The Em- Emperor formally declared that if the Count Palatine
would engage to enter into a close alliance with the
House of Austria and would make proper submission, he should
be placed in possession of a ' not contemptible ' part of the
lands formerly held by his father. Anything further must be
the subject of direct negotiation with the King of England. 2
Did Charles really mean to accept such terms as these ?
Was the influence of the Palatine House, whatever it might be,
March. to be thrown into the scale of Spain and the Em-
A o U to d Ger P eror ? Was the new ship-money fleet to be employed
many. j n an unjustifiable war with France for a simply dy-
nastic object ? Charles could not make up his mind. He
had now two nephews by his side pleading with him to treat
the Emperor's overtures with contempt, as Rupert, ardent and
boisterous, had come to join his more sedate elder brother.
1 Taylor to Windebank, Nov. - Dec. 5. 19. Dec 23 The Emperor s
' 28' 15, 29, Jan. a
Answer, Jan. z -*. Taylor to Cottington, Jan. ^, Clar. S. P. i. 369, 373,
375. 394. 434. 43 2 - Taylor to Coke, Jan. ~, S. P. Germany.
1 The Emperor's answer, Feb. ^, Clar. S. P. i. 461.
102 THE SECOND WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXVII.
Charles was half-inclined to think that they were in the right ;
but in the end he resolved to send a more formal embassy to
Vienna to obtain a definite resolution from the Emperor, and he
selected the stately Arundel for the task.
Uncertain as Chanes was as to the use to which the new
fleet was to be put, he had no hesitation in enforcing the pay-
ment of the ship-money by which it was to be
ship-money equipped. At the end of January ii9,ooo/. had
enforced. been paid. At the end of March the sum received
amounted to 156,0007. ; l but there were still considerable ar-
rears, and even this amount had not been gathered without
difficulty. On February n, for instance, Sir Peter
Difficulties , TT 11, ,, , , , ^ f , ,
in Oxford- Wentworth had collected i,6oo/. in Oxfordshire,
leaving i,9oo/. unpaid. Failing to get assistance
from the constables he had been compelled to make the assess-
ment himself. 2 Sir Francis Norris, who succeeded him as
sheriff, found that in some parts of the county the assessments
had still to be made. Warrants were sent to the incumbents
of the parishes, to the churchwardens, overseers, and constables,
calling on them to produce their books. They utterly refused
to do anything of the kind ; and the Council, true to its policy of
throwing all responsibility on the sheriff, ordered Norris sharply
to make the assessment by his own officers, sending the refrac-
tory constables to the Council to answer for themselves. Even
when the assessments had been made, resistance did not come
to an end. At Stoke Newington the constable and another
of the inhabitants wrote to the sheriff that no money should
be gathered in the parish till he informed them of some law
or statute binding them thereto. It was a brave answer ; but
the two men had not the courage to deliver it themselves.
They sent their letter by the hands of a poor tailor. Norris,
goaded past endurance, seized upon the unlucky messenger
and sent him to London. There he remained in prison for
some time, protesting, probably in all sincerity, that he was
entirely ignorant of the contents of the letter with which he
1 S. P. Dom, cccxii. 76, ccxvii. 41.
" Receipt, Feb. II. Wentworth to the Council, Feb. 12, ibid, cccxiii.
89, 93-
1636 ASSESSMENT OF SHIP-MONEY. 103
had been entrusted. The Privy Council did not hold that the
seizure of the tailor excused the sheriff. Nor were
they influenced by his assurances that the resistance
was stirred up by persons of high quality in the county. They
replied that if such were the case those persons ought to be
called to account. It was Norris's business to make the assess-
ment, beginning with men of the highest rank. If the incum-
bents or churchwardens refused to show their books, they might
be required to enter into bonds to appear before the Council,
and if they refused to do this they might be committed to
prison. If, as frequently happened, no one could
be found in the county willing to buy cattle taken
by distraint from those who refused to pay, the animals were
to be sent to London to be sold by the King's officers. 1 All
that sheriff or Council could do, however, availed but little.
Of the i,9oo/. outstanding in February, only ioo/. had been
collected by the end of June, and at the beginning of October
only an additional 2oo/. had been paid.
No doubt Oxfordshire was in some respects an exceptional
county. Lord Saye was always at hand, and, though no direct
evidence is to be had, there can be little doubt that
June. '
General he encouraged the resistance. Many other counties,
however, were not much better disposed to submit.
The register of the Privy Council is crowded with letters urging
chambers the sheriffs to do their duty. In London Richard
the^King^ Chambers, untamed by the fine and imprisonment
Bench. which had been inflicted on him on account of his
resistance to the payment of tonnage and poundage, manfully
carried the question of right before the Court of King's Bench.
The judges would not even allow the question to be
The court , , -1,1 ,
refuses to argued. Justice Berkeley said that there was a rule
of law and a rule of government, and that many
things which might not be done by the rule of law might be
done by the rule of government' 2
1 Norris to the Council, March II. The Council to Norris, March 22.
Return by French and Roberts, April 14. Willett's petition, April (?),
S. P. Daw. cccxv. 133 ; cccxvi. 92 ; cccxviii. 75 ; cccxix. 108. The
Council to Norris, May 5, Council Register. * Rushwor'Ji, ii. 323.
104 THE SECOND WRIT OF SH1P-MUNEY. CH. IJCXVIL
It was hardly possible to render a worse service to the Crown
than to proclaim openly from the bench that Charles's rule was
bound by no law. It had been an old maxim, even of the Crown
lawyers, that the limits of the prerogative were subject to ar-
gument in Westminster Hall. Berkeley would have
placed it in a higher sphere, bound by no restraints,
down. limited by no conditions save those which the King
might think right to place upon himself. The feeling that law
was trodden under foot would quickly spread, and would give
an imaginative force to a resistance which would be based on
a higher motive than the dislike to pay a tax which had not
been paid before. The belief quickly spread that far more
was at stake than the payment of the few pounds or the few
shillings which were now exacted. " If this," wrote D'Ewes,
" could be done lawfully, then, by the same right, the King,
upon the like pretence, might gather the same sum ten, twelve,
or a hundred times redoubled, and so to infinite proportions
to any one shire, when and as often as he pleased ; and so no
man was, in conclusion, worth anything." l
Never was any reproach more ill-founded than that which
has been raised against the generation which resisted ship-
money, on the ground that its material comforts
of the re- l n were well provided for and that the burden imposed
nce ' upon it was slight. In nations, as in men, a
sensitive apprehension of the consequences which will follow
from causes apparently unimportant is the mark of a well-de-
veloped and highly strung organisation. It was because the
English nation had learned in the course of its past history the
virtues of self-reliance and perspicacity, that it was roused to
indignation by an impost which was materially slight. The
possibilities of future hardship, together with the present insult
offered by a Government which showed no confidence in the
people, and which treated them as permanently incapable of
understanding their own interests, stung them to the quick.
In the summer of 1636 two years had passed away since
England first learned from Coventry's mouth that ship-money
1 D'Ewes, Autobiography, ii. 130.
1636 GROWING DISCONTENT. 105
was to be paid. During those years an attack upon the re-
ligion of the majority of religious Englishmen had
Religious . . ,, , . , , , , .
c- been running parallel with the attack upon their
property. To D'Ewes, the Puritan antiquary, as
to many others, 1634 was the beginning of evils. 1 It is time
to see what Laud had been doing in these years to alienate
the Protestantism of England.
1 D'Ewes, Autobiography, ii. 119.
io6
CHAPTER LXXVIII.
THE METROPOLITICAL VISITATION.
LAUD might well lament that there was little chance of seeing
his principle of Thorough carried out in the administration of
, 634 . the Government. At the Queen's Court it was openly
churched" said tnat > with the sin g^ e exception of the Arch
State. bishop, the whole Council might be bought for 20,000
crowns. 1 Exaggerated as the statement was, there was enough
truth in it to cause sorrow to those who had the King's interest
at heart. Even in Charles himself Thorough found but little
place. His wishes were all in the direction of just and equal
government. But there was no self-sacrificing energy in his
character, no resolute discouragement of men who were using
his name to forward their own interests.
In Laud's own sphere, the energy of Thorough was not
wanting. His hand was everywhere. Rich and poor, high
and low, alike felt its weight. If only his energy had been at
the command of a broader intelligence, he would have gained
a name second to none in the long list of the benefactors of the
English people.
The best side of Laud's character was his grand sense of
the equality of men before the law. Nothing angered him so
Laud's love niuch as the claim of a great man to escape a penalty
ofequaiity. wn i c h would fall on others. Nothing brought him
into such disfavour with the great as his refusal to admit that
the punishment which had raised no outcry when it was meted
out to the weak and helpless should be spared in the case of
1 Panzani's report, AM. AJSS. 15,389, fol. 99.
1634 AN ENERGETIC ARCHBISHOP. 107
the powerful and wealthy offender. If, as all men then be-
lieved, it was fitting that the village lass should expiate her
sin by standing up to do penance in a white sheet in the face
of the congregation of her parish church, why was the lord of
the manor to pursue a career of profligacy unchecked ? It was
Laud's misfortune that an outrage upon good order and decency
roused his anger as strongly as an outrage upon morality. He.
heard everywhere of men slouching into church with their hats
on, lolling on the benches till they fell asleep, of churchyards
left unfenced, of pigs rooting on the graves, and of churches
themselves left untended. These things he determined to
remedy by the infliction of excessive penalties. Nor was he
content with vindicating propriety against mere indecency and
disorder. The law of the Church was to be carried out to the
letter, even when it came into collision with the conscientious
beliefs of the men with whom he had to deal. With him it was
not the heart which was to pour itself out in definite forms,
but the forms which were to train and discipline the heart.
Men were to kneel at the reception of the communion that
they might be taught humility, to bow at the utterance of the
sacred name of Jesus that they might be taught reverence.
In order that his will might be felt beyond his own diocese,
it was necessary that he should revive from the storehouse of
bypast times the rmht of Metropolitical Visitation
1 he Metro- ' r n
political which had been exercised by his predecessors before
the Reformation. Once in the time of his occupation
of the archiepiscopal see he was to appear in person or by
deputy in every diocese of his province, to take a survey of the
state of ecclesiastical discipline, and to carry out the reforms
which were needed to bring the Church and the clergy into
accordance with the law of the Church.
Like the levy of ship-money, Laud's claim rested on pre-
cedents of undoubted antiquity. Like ship-money, too, it con-
tained the germs of a great revolution. It reduced
Relation . B
between the the episcopate to a subordinate position. No doubt
archbishops . , . , . . . . _
and the the bishops had been subordinate to Elizabeth. But
there was an immense difference between submission
to a queen delicately sensitive to the currents of lay opinion,
Io8 THE METROPOLITICAL VISITATION. CH. LXXVIII.
and submission to an Archbishop who treated lay opinion with
disdain.
For three years, beginning with 1634, Sir Nathaniel Brent,
Laud's Vicar-General, went through the length and breadth of
Brent's England south of the Trent, calling the clergy and
progress. {frg churchwardens to account, correcting disorders,
and, at the worst, ordering the prosecution of the offenders in
the Court of High Commission.
The answer made by members of the Chapter of Salisbury
Cathedral may serve as an example of the ordinary irregularities
visitation of mto which corporate bodies are apt to fall for want
Salisbury. o f a d e q ua t e supervision. They acknowledged that
they had often neglected to preach in the cathedral, as they
were bound by their rules to do ; that they were frequently ab-
sent from their duties, without any diminution of the revenue
assigned them on condition of residence ; that they usually
presented themselves to such benefices in their gift as fell
vacant, and that one of their number had sold such a benefice
for yo/. ; that the choristers had not been well instructed in
singing ; that in the churchyard there were some houses and
sheds which had long been there, though their gardens had
recently been extended at the expense of the churchyard ; and
that of late years the church had been pestered with movable
seats by which many were prevented from hearing, and the
preacher was troubled with the noise of persons coming into
them, whilst there were some fixed seats, not uniform in height,
by which 'the beauty of the church' was 'much blemished.'
There were further and more special complaints that the orna-
ments of the altar were deficient, and that the clergy did not
wear their square caps. 1
A few extracts from Brent's report to the Archbishop in
1635 will serve to display still further the character of the
Visitation. "At Norwich," he writes, "the cathedral
reports, church is much out of order. The hangings of the
Norwich. c h o i r are naught, the pavement not good, the spire
of the steeple is quite down, the copes are fair but want
1 House of Lords MSS., Hist. MSS. Commission, iv. 128.
1635 BRENTS REPORT. 109
mending. The churchyard is very ill kept ; . . . there is like-
wise a window that letteth smoke and casteth ill savour into
the north side of the church. Many ministers appeared without
priests' cloaks, and some of them are suspected of noncon-
formity, but they carried themselves so warily that nothing
could then be proved against them. The mayor and his
brethren came not to visit me at my coming in. Afterwards I
convented them for walking indecently in the cathedral church
in prayer time before the sermon, and I admonished them to
forbear for the future, and an act was made of it in their
presence. After this they visited me often, and gave me ample
satisfaction for their former neglect, protesting that they will
always be ready to desire your Grace's good opinion of them."
At Swaffham there were few Puritans, 'but much
drunkenness, accompanied with all such vices as
usually do attend upon it.' At Lynn, 'since the
Court of High Commission took in hand some of
their schismatics, few of that fiery spirit ' remained there or in
the parts thereabout ; but there were divers Papists who spoke
'scandalously of the Scriptures and of our religion.' The three.
churches were well kept, except that at St. Margaret's 'the
communion-table wanted a rail, and at the upper end of the
choir, instead of divine sentences of Scriptures, divers sayings
out of the Fathers were painted.' In these parts 'divers
parsonage-houses had been ruined and much glebe land ' was
'embezzled.' At Fakenham an excommunicated
Fakenham. j , cc . j
vicar continued to officiate, and many parsonage-
houses were in a ruinous state. At Yarmouth, where
Yarmouth. had Deen m uch contention about Church
matters, the town was quiet, and the chief persons promised
' absolute obedience to the laws of the Church.' The magis-
trates, however, desired a lecturer, but objected to leave the
choice of one to the Archbishop. At Bungay one of the
churches was 'ruinous.' The Curate of Rumborough 'was
charged with divers points of inconformity,' but 'renounced all
upon his oath, and ' promised to read the Declaration of Sports.
' Mr. Daines, lecturer at Beccles, a man of more than seventy
years of age, did never wear the surplice nor use the cross in
no THE METROPOLITICAL VISITATION. CH. LXXVIII.
baptism.' Brent was ' told that all the bishops there had
tolerated him, because he ' was ' a very quiet and honest man.'
He now 'promised reformation.' At Ipswich Brent
IPSWIC . was rece i ve( j by t h e magistrates with great solemnity.
"The town," he wrote, "is exceeding factious, and yet the
better sort are conformable in. a reasonable good measure. I
ordered many things in the churches and churchyards. I
suspended one Mr. Cave, a precise minister of St Helen's, for
giving the sacrament of the Eucharist to non-kneelants. I
excommunicated divers churchwardens in that town who were
so precif j that they would not take their oath ; but afterwards
they all submitted, with protestation to reform their opinions,
and many do believe that a good reformation will follow. I
hear that in these parts there are some that do teach that none
have right to the creatures but the godly. But those who
complained either could not or would not tell their names.
There is but one hospital in this town, and that very well
governed." At Stamford ' the church was ' not well
kept, but the minister and people very conformable.
The ministers were generally in priests' cloaks, and they, with
the laity, were all the time of divine service uncovered, and
still bowed at the pronouncing of the blessed name of Jesus.'
At Oundle the schoolmaster was admonished ' for instructing
his scholars out of a wrong catechism, and for expounding the
Ten Commandments unto them out of the writings of a silenced
minister.' He also refused 'to bow at the name of Jesus.'
Order was therefore ' taken for his suspension in case ' of his
persistent refusal.
It is needless to peruse Brent's diary further. Everywhere
the care for the material fabrics of the churches is mixed up
with the care for conformity. Other documents of
church the time reveal much the same state of things as that
which confronts us in the report of the Vicar-General.
Sometimes there were cases of direct spoliation of Church
property. At Wimborne, for instance, where 5oo/. a year had
been assigned by Queen Elizabeth for the maintenance of the
1 It was here that Vicars had given offence. See Vol. VII. p. 253.
1635 BRENT'S REPORT. HI
Grammar School, only 150/1 was paid, the remainder being
fraudulently appropriated by the governors. ' At Louth, of an
income of 4oo/. a year belonging to the Free School, the school-
master received no more than 2o/. At Saxby, Lord Castleton's
bailiff was found using the middle aisle of the church as a place
for melting the lead which he had stripped from the roof. Some
of this lead ran through the floor into a coffin beneath. In
order to recover the metal, the bailiff took up the floor and
burnt the coffin, together with the corpse which it contained. 2
In the North, one Robert Brandling, being charged with
adulteries, incest, and other impious profanations, turned the
key of the church door upon the Ecclesiastical Court convened
to try him, and kept the members of it close prisoners till he
chose to let them out. 3 After this it is little to hear that the
Buckinghamshire gentry, John Hampden amongst them, se-
lected the churchyards as the fittest places in which to muster
the trained bands of the county. 4
Such cases as these offer no difficulty. If Laud had con-
fined himself to taking care that the outward fabrics and the
.property of the Church were treated with respect, and that both
clergy and laity abstained from embezzling money entrusted to
them for definite purposes, he would have met with no oppo-
sition of which he need have been afraid.
It was more difficult to know how to deal with clerical non-
conformity. Many instances which come before us are mere
Various cases of brawling. Dr. Dennison, for instance, the
aspects of Curate of St. Catharine Cree, was accustomed to
noncon-
formity, enliven his sermons by personal abuse of his pa-
rishioners, comparing them to 'frogs, hogs, dogs, and devils.'
Anthony Lapthorne, Rector of Tretire in Herefordshire,
seldom read the Litany except in Lent, and when he reached
the Psalms or the Lessons would go up at once into the pulpit,
1 State of the school of Wimborne, June 22, 1635, S. P. Dom.
ccxci. 28.
2 Note by the Chancellor of Lincoln, July 14, 1634, ibid, cclxxi.
82.
* Morton to Windebank, May 24, 1634, ibid, cclxviii. 63.
4 Brent to Farmery, Oct. 27, 1634, ibid, cclxxvi. 35.
112 THE METROPOL1TICAL VISITATION, CH. LXXVIM.
omitting the rest of the service. In his sermon he frequently
reviled some of his congregation in the presence of strangers
whom he had invited to hear him, and whom he asked to assist
him in praying out the devils with which his own parishioners
were possessed. He spoke of the clergy generally in disre-
spectful terms, and those of his own neighbourhood he called
idle shepherds, dumb dogs, and soul-murderers. Francis
Abbot, vicar of Poslingford in Suffolk, broke off the service
to bring a form from the end of the church, and pulled three
men violently off it He was accustomed to point to someone
or another of his congregation whenever he mentioned any
particular sin. At Brigstock in Northamptonshire, a clergyman
named Price scarcely ever read the Litany or the Command-
ments. In reading the Scriptures he omitted the name of
Jesus, lest the people should take occasion to bow. He left
infants unbaptized, and administered the communion to persons
sitting. He refused to read the Declaration of Sports, stopping
his ears whilst it was being read by the clerk. He locked the
door upon his congregation, and kept them in church to hear
him preach till dark. 1 John Workman, a lecturer at Gloucester,
preached that every step taken in dancing was a step towards
hell ; that it was little better than flat idolatry to possess the
picture of the Saviour ; that the election of ministers properly
belonged to the people ; that drunkards and debauchees who
conformed were thought capable of ecclesiastical promotion,
whilst others of higher merits were passed by. 2
It is plain from these instances that Laud would have no
difficulty in finding objects for the exercise of his reforming
zeal. Unrestricted licence to the clergyman to select
1034. *
HOW far was what prayers he chooses, and to use what language
ferenceTus- r " he chooses in the pulpit, is sheer tyranny over his
congregation, as long as that congregation is com
pdled by law to attend upon his ministrations, and is also
debarred by law from exercising any restraint upon his words
1 High Commission Act Book, S. P. Dom. cclxi. 83, 121, 282 b,
cclxxx. 54.
* Ibid, cclxi. 206. For refutation of the ordinary belief that the High
Commission suspended and deprived clergymen in shoals, see the Appendix.
16J4 LAUD'S LEGALITY. 113
and Actions. It might be a question whether the whole eccle-
siastical constitution ought to be changed or not, just as it
might be a question whether the whole political constitution
ought to be changed or not ; but as long as either existed it
was the plain duty of archbishop or king to see that the general
interests of the people were not sacrificed to the self-will of
persons in office in Church or State. Yet even if Laud had
done no more than to put a stop to exhibitions of rudeness or
ill-temper, he would probably have given unnecessary offence
by his refusal to recognise the legitimacy of the maintenance
of the opinion from which this unjustifiable coarseness of ex-
pression sometimes sprung. He was on still more dangerous
ground in striking at practices which sprang not merely from
the subversive Puritanism which aimed at the abolition of
existing institutions, but at those which symbolised the Pro-
testantism which was dear to the heart of the nation. In so
doing he brought himself into collision not merely with a special
form of doctrine, but with that instinctive conservatism which
clings to habits of action, and which bitterly resents sudden and
abrupt interference with usage, whether it comes in the shape of
premature anticipation of the new, or of antiquarian reproduc-
tion of the old.
Laud's enormous mistake was that he took no account
whatever of this conservative feeling. He appealed in all
He despises things to the law, and to the law alone. It was
va e tive n ^- r nothing to him that the law had been drawn up half
stinct. a century or a century before, at a time when the
temper of men's minds was very different from what it had
become in his own day. In his reasonable dislike of a system
His super- which would take the mere self-will of a population,
reverence ^ ts ignorance, its avarice, and its irreverence as the
for the law. basis of government, he refused to take its wishes
and habits into account at all. If the law was broken, however
obsolete it might be, it was his duty to see that it was carried out.
With the best intentions of preserving the im-
Difficultyof ,. ... ... . , . ., . r
applying its partiality of his judgment, it would be impossible for
Laud to act in this way with complete impartiality.
No man ever succeeds in drawing out of the storehouses of
VOL. VIII- I
H4 THE METROPOLITICAL VISITATION. CH. LXXVIH.
accumulated law only that which he finds there. He enters
upon the search equipped with his own habits of thought
and his own sense of the relative importance of all that he
finds. He leaves much behind him, if he carries more away,
and even that which he has found is modified in passing
through his mind. How could Laud himself, the least impartial
of men, fail in converting the law which he vindicated into an
engine of oppression ? Was he not certain to throw undue
weight upon all that coincided with his own views, and to shut
his eyes to all that made against them ?
In this is probably to be found the explanation of the order
which Laud gave to Brent to direct that the communion-tables
should everywhere be removed to the east end of
Order for the *
removal of the churches, and should be fenced in by a railing to
the com- . . /
munion- secure them against profanation. 1 The order, as
Laud always professed, was given for the sake of
decency. Men were no longer to have the opportunity of
scribbling on the table, putting their hats on it, or sitting upon
it. The legality of the order was, however, to say the least of it,
doubtful, and those who objected to it would be able to assert
that it was only enforced in consequence of the personal decision
of the King in the case of St. Gregory's, and of the personal
interference of the Archbishop \sith the ordinary jurisdiction of
the bishops. Everybody who could read the canon under
which Laud issued the order could see that a movable table
was contemplated, and it was difficult to deny that if the existing
practice of a fixed table in the centre of the church was illegal,
the new practice of a fixed table at the east end was also illegal.
The question of the position of the table was of little im-
portance except so far as it served to indicate the
Significance ...... , , .
of the religious feelings 01 those who gathered round it, or
of those who had authority over the worshippers. It
would be impossible to choose a belter symbol of the victory of
1 Heylyn, Cypr. Angl. 269. The evidence of Williams that commu-
nion-tables were not usually placed at the east end in country churches
has already been given (Vol. VII. p. 18). Laud himself says much the
same thing : ' And though it stood in most parish churches rhe other way,'
&.C, Speech at the censure of Bast wick and others, Works, vi. 59.
COMMUNION-TABLES MOVED. 115
one set of ideas over another. The table standing in the centre
of the church indicates a body of worshippers who gather round
it to perform only one amongst other acts of devotion. The
table standing at the east end indicates that they are to approach
with special reverence an act of extraordinary importance. The
one arrangement points distinctly in a Protestant, the other in
a Catholic direction.
Of course it would be ridiculous to deduce all the religious
opposition which followed from this single change. Interference
in all directions gave rise to irritation in all directions. Yet
the removal of the communion-table undoubtedly gave special.
offence as bringing visibly home to all the conviction that
Laud had entered upon a path which, as a large part of the
population firmly believed, led directly to Rome a belief which
was strengthened by the knowledge that though the practice of
bowing towards the east upon entering a church was not gene-
rally enforced, the Archbishop favoured its introduction, and
even compelled its observance where, as was the case in many
cathedrals, it was enjoined either by ancient statutes handed
down from the Middle Ages, or by new statutes compiled, as
happened at Canterbury, under his own directions. 1
It would be going too far to speak of the opposition roused
as universal. In Elizabeth's time conformity had been a matter
of theory rather than of practice, and there were
The offence 111' / -, i- i i
given not doubtless not a few parishes which slipped quietly
unwersa. from the old ^^ lo the new ^ and in ^ich the table
had never been moved from its original position in the chancel.
In other parishes there may have been many who, without wel-
coming the change, did not feel called upon to express any
special indignation, and there must have been a still larger
number of persons who, disliking what was done, were never-
theless unwilling to expose themselves to the risk of resistance
to authority.
1 At Canterbury the rule introduced was : " Singuli vero cujuscunque
fuerint gradus aut ordinis in ingressu chori divinam majestatem devota
mente adorantes humiliter se inclinabunt versus altare (prout anticjuis
quarandam ecclesiarum statutis cautum novimus) et deiode conveisi
decano quoque debitam reverentiam exhibebant."
I 2
ii6 THE METROrOLITICAL VISITATION. CH. LXXVIII.
In the diocese of London the change had been enforced
by Laud before his accession to the archbishopric. It is
evident from the few examples which are available that the
opposition raised, important as it was, was the opposition of a
minority. In the parish of St. Margaret's, Lothbury, for in-
stance, the change was effected by one of the churchwardens,
with the consent of the majority of a hesitating
Chauncey at vestry. 1 At Ware, again, where the conduct of the
vicar, Charles Chauncey, had already been under ex-
amination by the High Commission, the churchwardens sum-
moned a meeting of the parishioners, and with the consent
of the majority removed the table and railed it in. The vicar
objected strongly, declared that he would never administer the
communion until the table was restored to its old place, and
resigned his benefice rather than break his word. The parish
was rent into two factions, and the one opposed to the change
invited Chauncey to return to Ware to head them
against the new vicar, who had declared himself a
follower of the Laudian school. Chauncey accepted the in-
vitation, and inveighed publicly against the innovation as a
snare to the conscience and an invitation to a breach of the
Second Commandment. He was accordingly brought before
the High Commission, and forced to sign a. humble form of
regret for his behaviour, including an acknowledgment that he
was now persuaded that kneeling at the reception of the Com-
munion was a lawful and commendable gesture, and that the rail,
round the table at Ware was a decent and convenient ornament. 2
It was not always that the majority of the parishioners could
be induced to concur in making the change. Bishop Pierce
of Bath and Wells, who had led the attack upon
Case of' the impugners of the Somersetshire wakes, was now
Beckington. foremost in the remO val of the tables. The church-
wardens of Beckington resolutely refused to obey, and were
excommunicated by the Bishop for their refusal They ap-
1 Paper reid by Mr. Freshfield before the Society of Antiquaries,
March 26, 1876.
2 High Commission Act Book, Nov. 26, 1635; Feb. u, 1636, S. P.
Dom. cclxi. 298 b, cccxxiv. 5. Prynne, Caul. Doom t 94.
1636 SUBMISSION TO LAUD. 117
pealed in vain to the Court of Arches, and a petition to Laud
ior relief naturally remained without effect. A petition to
1636 , the King was equally fruitless. The churchwardeas
16 37 . were thrown into prison as excommunicated persons.
There they remained for a year, and were only released on
engaging to acknowledge publicly in Beckington church, andl
in two other churches of the diocese, that they had grievously
offended the Divine Majesty of Almighty God and the laws
ecclesiastical of the realm. l
Laud had his way. Parish after parish submitted more or
less willingly to his command ; but in the minds of thousands
of peaceful law-abiding men there grew up an en-
dangerous during sense of wrong a fixed belief that, as in the
case of ship-money, that was being promulgated as
law which was not law, and that, under the cloak of providing
for decency, an effort was being made to bring England back,
as soon as an opportunity occurred, beneath the Papal yoke.
These men might be but a minority amongst the population,
but they were an energetic and intelligent minority, and they
would soon be reinforced by those who cared little for religious
changes, but who on various grounds objected to the payment
of ship-money. A combination between those who are in
earnest about preserving their accustomed forms of worship,
and those who are in earnest about keeping their money in
their pockets, is one which no Government can afford to
despise.
Great as was the offence which Laud gave by strictness in
enforcing the one-sided interpretation of the law which, in his
1634. eyes, stood in the place of the law itself, he perhaps
His unsym- gave quite as much offence by the hard and unsym-
pathising *
nature. pathising temper with which he approached those
whose views of life differed from his own. Without geniality
himself he could not appreciate geniality in others, and he
required that all men should so frame their speech as to avoid
shattering that delicate framework of ceremony and discipline
over which he was so anxiously watching. The principle from
which he started, of allowing freedom of thought without free-
1 Prynne, Cant. Doom, 97.
fi8 THE METROPOLITICAL VISITATION. CH. LXXVIII.
dom of speech, was bearing its bitter fruits. Speech was
bursting forth on every side, no longer against an abstract
theological doctrine, but against the very edifice which he was
building up, and which threatened to catch fire on every side
before he could tread out the sparks by which it was en-
dangered.
No better evidence can be found of the real weakness of
Laud's position than his treatment of Samuel Ward of Ipswich.
Placed for many years in a county distinguished by
Samuel . _ . , . TTr , , } .
Ward, of its strong Puritan leanings, Ward had gamed the ear
of his fellow-townsmen by his earnestness and sin-
cerity as well as by his excellence as a preacher. He declared
the Puritan gospel, but he was content to accept the Prayer-
book as it stood, and was thoroughly loyal to the institutions
,626. of his country in Church and State. Even in the
His loyalty. m i(Jst of the violent outcry against Buckingham
which was almost universal in the first years of the reign, he
preserved his respect for the King's minister, and was able to
declare with a safe conscience that ' in the midst of vulgar
rumours ' he had ' prayed heartily for his prosperity.' J
Laud's proceedings in the diocese of London gave the first
shock to Ward's feelings. The strict inquiry into the observ-
ance of forms without a corresponding interest in
His feeling the manifestations of spiritual life seemed to him of
ianges> evil augury. In 1633 we hear of Ward's 'melancholy
fits'; 2 whilst he is charged by an adversary with preaching
against set forms of prayer, and with suggesting to
his congregation the possibility of an alteration of
religion. 3 The charge, as would appear from subsequent pro-
ceedings, was wholly or in part exaggerated, and it is possible
that a desire to clear himself from these imputations may have
had something to do with the fact that he undertook about this
time the prosecution before the High Commission of three
persons charged with antinomian opinions. 4 If so the penalty
1 Ward to Nicholas, Oct. 1626, .9. P. Dom. xxxviii. 20.
* Peters to Phelips, June 26, 1633, ibid, ccxii. 52.
* Dod to Laud, Feb. 4, 1634, ibid. cclx. 17.
4 High Commission Act Book, Oct. 30, 1634, S. /'. Dom. cc/xii. 105.
1634 WARD OF IPSWICH. 119
for his offence followed sharply on its commission. In No-
November vem ^ er x ^34 he was summoned before the Council,
He is prose- and that body ordered proceedings to be taken against
cutedinthe . ' . . ,
High Com- him m the High Commission. 1
Passages culled by hostile eagerness from a series
of sermons spread over a long course of years, and related from
memory, might easily he brought to show that Ward was hostile
to the existing system, and even that he inspirited his hearers
to stand on their defence against it. But it was not proved
that he had committed any open breach of the canons of the
Church. He had, indeed, argued that extempore prayer was
lawful, but he had acknowledged that set forms of prayer were
also lawful, though he had shown that he thought that ex-
tempore prayers were better than those which were read out of
a book. It was impossible, he had said, for anyone to carry
about with him a manual of prayer which would be suitable for
all occasions. He had even declared that a parrot might be
instructed to repeat set forms, and that an ape might be taught
to bow and gesticulate. Then had come an expression of
belief that the Church was ready to ring the changes in matter
of discipline. There had been more of the same sort, and
though he denied that his words were correctly reported, or that
even when correctly reported, they were incapable of a favourable
explanation, there can be no doubt that he had used expressions
derogatory to the ceremonial worship which was being imposed
upon the Church. 2 As he refused to acknowledge the truth of
the charges against him in the form laid down for him to sign,
though he was willing to admit that the Court was justified in
Ward's sentencing him by the evidence before it, he was sent
sentence. j o prison as contumacious. His congregation, hav-
ing received from the bishop of the diocese permission to ap-
point a minister in his place, refused for some time to take
advantage of the privilege, and after his death in 1640, con-
tinued to his widow and eldest son the payment which they had
been accustomed to make to himself.
1 Council Register, Nov. 7. High Commission Act Book, S. P. Daw.
cclxi. 124 b.
* The papers relating to this case have been printed in the Preface of
Bruce's Calendar of Domestic State Papers ', 1635-6.
120 THE METROPOL1TICAL VISITATION. CH. LXXVIII
The proceedings against Ward are of special interest as in-
dicating the limit to which the Court of High Commission was
importance prepared to go. No one who has studied its records
of the case. w jjj speak o f ft as a barbarous or even as a cruel
tribunal. Its chief characteristic was its fixity of aim, and the
resoluteness with which disobedience to its orders was over-
come, though not without considerable moderation in the
treatment of individual offenders who showed an inclination
to give way before the pressure put upon them. It now ap-
peared that the court of which Laud was the soul would not
be content with obedience. At least in public there must be
no criticism of the system which it imposed upon the clergy.
Such a result was hut the logical consequence of Laud's con-
ception of a Church. If the living spiritual forces moving in
the hearts of men were not to be taken into account, a clergy-
man could no more be permitted to call in question the rules
under which he lived than a colonel can be permitted to call
in question the regulations of the army in the face of his regi-
ment. It was because this conception was in itself a false one,
not because the mode in which it was carried out was harsh
and tyrannical, that Laud went astray. His system left no
place for the infinite varieties of the human mind, and looked
with horror upon the irregular action of individual life. The
pulsations of the religious heart of England were too vigorous
to be thus controlled. They called for a form of discipline
more flexible, and less restricted to the expression of a single
mood. Orderly freedom of speech and thought was the only
remedy for the disease from which the English Church was
suffering, and unfortunately Laud was never able to compre-
hend that freedom was more than another name for disorder.
Such a man, in such a position, needed to be constantly
on the watch. The edifice which he was rearing was of so
artificial a character that he dared not withdraw his
1634.
The foreign eye from it for an instant He had recently brought
churches. ^jg aut h or fty to bear on the Presbyterianism of Eng-
lish merchants and English soldiers residing in the Netherlands,
lest the contamination should spread to their native countn.
He now brought his authority to bear on foreigners resident in
1634 FOREIGN CONGREGATIONS. 121
England. Elizabeth had made no scruple in permitting the
industrious French and Dutch refugees who fled from the axe
and faggot to worship God in their own language and in their
own fashion, and neither she nor James had interfered with their
children because they continued to use the form of prayer to
which their fathers had been accustomed in the land of their
birth. Laud thought otherwise. He announced indeed his
intention of permitting those persons who had been born
abroad to continue to prav in their own language in churches
of their own, provided that they consented to employ a trans-
lation of the English Prayer-book ; but he held that their sons
and daughters, born in England, were clearly English, and
he announced to them that they would be expected to attend
the parish church. 1 In vain the Englishmen amongst whom
these children of a foreign race were settled pleaded earnestly
in their favour. In vain they themselves petitioned for mercy. 2
Their deputies applied to Pembroke to admit them to the
presence of the King, that they might assure him of
3: " their loyalty. Pembroke, Lord Chamberlain as he
was, did not venture to introduce them to the Royal presence,
and they were obliged to content themselves with offering their
petition to Charles on his way from chapel. The King took
the petition, and handed it to Pembroke. All that was gained
was the revocation of the order for the use of the English
Prayer-book so far as those were concerned who had been
born abroad. No excuse was admitted on behalf of those who
were born in England. 3
Few governments would fall if they contented themselves
with attacking onlv the devoted and the intelligent
General .
irritation But it is seldom that a government sufficiently blind
caused by .... .....
Laud's pio- to throw itselt athwart the aims of the devoted and
intelligent is clearsighted enough to spare the weak-
ness and prejudices of the mass of mankind. It is possible
1 Minute of proceedings at Canterbury, Dec. 19, 1634, .S. P. Dom.
cclxxviii. 63. 2 Prynne, Cant. Doom, 403.
3 Heylyn, Cypr. Angl. 263. Joachimi to the States-General, Feb. '--J
Add. MSS. 17,677 O, fol. 287. Sonnner to Dell, April 14, S. P. Dom.
cclxxxvi. 85.
122 THE METROFOLITICAL VISITATION. CH. LXXVIII,
that Laud might have carried his point of reducing the clergy
to discipline if he had left the laity alone. It is possible that
he might have succeeded in meting out equal law to the rich
and poor if he had left the Puritan clergy to worship according
to their conscience. As it was, he irritated all classes in turn.
Attitude of More especially were the country gentlemen annoyed
the clergy, ty th e attitude of superiority assumed by the clergy.
Hitherto the rector or the vicar of the parish had not ventured
to hold up his head in the presence of the county families. It
was well for him if they did not cheat him of his rights, en-
croach upon his income, or deprive him of the means of main-
taining his church in repair. The clergyman of the parish now
found himself exalted to a dignity to which he had been un-
accustomed. He was the guardian of the morals of his parish,
whose business it was to enforce ecclesiastical rules on the
laity, to see that they did not eat meat in Lent without a
certificate, nor send their carts across the churchyard. In
any difference between the clergyman and the squire, the
clergyman knew that he was certain of a favourable hearing
with the archbishop, and that there would be a presumption at
Whitehall that he was in the right and his opponent in the
wrong. When the Government needed information upon which
it could depend, it was increasingly in the habit of applying to
the bishop or the rector, and of framing its action in conformity
with the information which it thus obtained. The country gentle-
men had long been made to feel that they were overshadowed
by the officers of the Crown. They were now made to feel that
they were overshadowed by the incumbents of their own parishes.
The feeling thus engendered served to intensify the morti-
fication caused by the impartial strictness of the Ecclesiastical
Gentlemen Courts. Clarendon's description of Laud tells but
HfTcon- P art f the trut h> as h e shrinks from admitting that
mission. the Archbishop's unpopularity arose in any way from
his antagonism to men of high religious principle. But as far
as it goes, it is drawn from the life. " He did court persons
too little," wrote Clarendon, "nor cared to make his designs
and purposes appear as candid l as they were, by shewing
1 i.f, as white or pure.
1035 LAUD'S SENSE OF EQUALITY. 123
them in any other dress than their own natural beauty and
roughness ; and did not consider enough what men said, or
were like to say of him. If the faults and vices were fit to be
looked into and discovered, let the persons be who they would
that were guilty of them, they were sure to find no connivance
or favour from him. He intended the discipline of the Church
should be felt as well as spoken of, and that it should be ap-
plied to the greatest and most splendid transgressors, as well as
to the punishment of smaller offences and meaner offenders ;
and thereupon called for or cherished the discovery of those
who were not careful to cover their own iniquities, thinking
they were above the reach of other men, or their power or will
to chastise. Persons of honour and great quality, of the Court
and of the country, were every day cited into the High Com-
mission Court upon the fame of their incontinence or other
scandal in their lives, and were there prosecuted to their shame
and punishment ; and as the shame which they called the
insolent triumph upon their degree and quality, and levelling
them with the common people was never forgotten, but
watched for revenge, so the fines imposed were the more
questioned and repined against, because they were assigned to
the rebuilding and repairing St. Paul's Church, and thought
therefore to be the more severely imposed and less compassion -
ately reduced and excused." ' Such is Clarendon's picture of
a man bravely combating evil combating too, alas, many
things which were not evil at all except in his own imagination.
Other causes of dissatisfaction were at work. A book which
issued from the press in 1635 did much to strengthen the im
pression left by the Archbishop's proceedings. She!-
jf>eDit- ford's Fire Discourses 2 can hardly be said to have
courses.
gone beyond the limits imposed by the English
Church. But in reproving the unbecoming irreverence of his
Suffolk parishioners, the author spoke in words which must
have given offence to others besides the men who brought their
dogs into the church, discussed the price of oxen in their
pews, and expected their servants to interrupt their prayers m
1 Clarendon, i. 106.
2 Five' pious and learned Discourses, Cambridge, 1633.
124 THE METROPOLITICAL VISITATION. CH. ixxvni.
order to stand up to do them reverence as they passed. The
verses prefixed by Crashaw, a young Cambridge poet who was
as yet but pluming his wings for a higher flight, were full of
defiant scorn of those who resisted the change which had come
over the outward form of the churches. He boasts that now
' God's services no longer shall put on
Pure sluttishness for pure religion.
No more the hypocrite shall upright be,
Because he's stiff, and will confess no knee.'
Crashaw had caught the tone of the book to which his verses
formed a prelude. It was better that the Suffolk boor of higher
or lower degree should bow his head and bend his knee than
that he should regard the church as a house built for his own
recreation ; but it was not well that one who was labouring to
rouse his parishioners to reverence should cast the same scorn
upon those to whom the very thought, was unknown, and upon
those to whom the visible was but a hindrance to the uplifting
of the heart in the presence of the invisible.
The mischief which men like Shelford were doing can only
be appreciated in turning to the reminiscences of such a man
Baxter's re- as Richard Baxter. Baxter distinctly asserts that till
juiniscences. J^Q h e < k new no t one Presbyterian, clergyman nor
lay, and but three or four nonconforming ministers.' He de-
scribes the mass of men almost exactly as Shelford describes
them. " The generality," he says, " seemed to mind nothing
seriously but the body and the world ; they went to church
and would answer the parson in responds, and then go to
dinner, and then to play ; they never prayed in their families,
but some of them going to bed would say over the Creed, and
the Lord's Prayer, and some of them Hail Mary : all the year
long, not a serious word of holy things, or the life to come,
that I could hear of, proceeded from them. They read not
the Scripture, nor any good book or catechism. Few of them
could read, or had a Bible." l Shelford's remedy for this was
1 Baxter, The true History of Councils, 90.
1635 RICHARD BAXTER. 125
to inculcate outward icverence in the hope that inward rever-
ence would follow, and thus to draw on the soul by the study
of the Bible, of good books, and by the listening to devout and
godly conversation. Baxter's remedy was to quicken their souls
to a higher life by telling them of the Saviour's love. In 1635
Baxter was but in his twentieth year. He was the spiritual
child of Sibbes, whose Bruised Reed had, after many a struggle,
taught him to know his life's work. To the Puritan love of
logical precision he joined a flexibility of moral imagination
which hindered him from seeing the world entirely through the
spectacles of fallible ratiocination. He could hold the doctrine
of conversion without thinking it necessary to fix the hour and
the minute of the new birth, and he could hold the main Cal-
vinistic theories without thinking it necessary to break even yet
with the Church of which he aspired to be a minister. The
description which he gives of those who were taunted as Puri-
tans was doubtless a fair description of himself. " The other
sort," he says, "were such as had their consciences awakened
to some regard of God and their everlasting state ; and accord-
ing to the various measures of their understanding, did speak
and live as serious in the Christian faith, and would much en-
quire what was duty and what was sin, and how to please God
and to make sure of salvation ; and made this their business
and interest, as the rest did the world. . . . They used to pray
in their families, and alone ; some on the book, and some
without ; they would not swear nor curse, nor take God's name
lightly. They feared all known sin. They would go to the
next parish church to hear a sermon when they had none at
their own ; would read the Scripture on the Lord's day when
others were playing. There were, where I lived, about the
number of two or three families in twenty ; and these by the
rest were called Puritans, and derided as hypocrites and pre-
cisians, that would take upon them to be holy ; and especially
if they told anyone of his swearing, drunkenness, or ungodli-
ness, they were made the common scorn. Yet not one of many
of them ever scrupled conformity to bishops, liturgy, or cere-
monies, and it was godly conformable ministers that they
went from home to hear ; and these ministers being the ablest
126 THE METROPOL1T1CAL VISITATION. CH. LXXVIII.
preachers, and of more serious piety, were also the objects of
the vulgar obloquy as Puritans and precisians themselves, and
accordingly spoke against by many of their tribe, and envied for
being preferred by godly men." l
In throwing scorn upon such men as these the Laudian
clergy were but echoing the voices of the profligate and thought-
less crowd. It was by the mocking gibes of men like Shelford
and Crashaw that the Puritans were alienated even more than
by the removal of the communion-table or the reverential
gestures of some of the clergy. Men like Baxter were estranged,
too, by the want of moral earnestness which often lay behind the
fiercest polemical display. At the end of 1634, a few months
i6>t after the execution of the Star Chamber sentence upon
Baxter at Prynne, he found himself at Charles's Court. He
had come thither in hopes of preferment, being urged
by his parents to seek some more ambitious walk of life than
that of a minister. For a month he remained in the house of
Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels. " But," he says,
" I had quickly enough of the Court ; when I saw a stage-play
instead of a sermon on the Lord's days in the afternoon, and
saw what course was there in fashion, and heard little preaching
but what was as to one part against the Puritans, I was glad to
be gone." 2
After his return home came his first questionings about con-
formity. " Till this time," he writes, " I was satisfied in the
i6 matter of conformity ; whilst I was young I had never
First ques- been acquainted with any that were against it, or that
aCu s questioned it. I had joined with the Common
nity> Prayer with as hearty fervency as after I did with
other prayers. As long as I had no prejudice against it, 1 had
no stop in my devotions from any of its imperfections. At
last, at about twenty years of age, I became acquainted with
Mr. Simmonds, Mr. Cradock, and other very zealous godly
nonconformists in Shrewsbury and the adjoining parts, whose
fervent prayers and savoury conference and holy lives did
profit me much ; and when I understood they were people
prosecuted by the bishops, I found much prejudice arise in my
1 History of Councils, 91. * Life, II.
1635 ANTHONY STAFFORD. 127
heart against those that persecuted them, and thought those
that silenced and troubled such men could not be the genuine
followers of the Lord of love." l
If Shelford but interpreted one side of the teaching of his
Church, Anthony Stafford went far beyond it. His Female
Glory was a biography of the Virgin, pieced out with
Female legendary and imaginative details. To the Puritan,
and, it may fairly be said, to the Protestant, the book
was repulsive, as ascribing honour only short of divine to a
created being. Nor is it less objectionable from the self-con-
scious prudishness 2 of the character held up as a model of
excellence beyond the reach of human imitation.
The knowledge that such a book had passed the licenser's
hands might easily minister food to the growing belief that the
Growingfear Archbishop's energy of interference could only be
of Rome. explained by a settled purpose of leading England in
chains to the feet of the Pope. The suspicion was entirely un-
founded. Laud was too serenely and imperturbably assured of
the strength of his own position to look elsewhere for authority
and support. There were, however, others who felt less secure
of their ground, and opened their ears gladly to the teaching of
the emissaries of Rome.
Of those who were influenced in this direction a few may
have regarded the Anglican ceremonies as too bald or too stiff
for purposes of devotion ; but the greater part sought
oftheCatho- a refuge from the burden of conscientious inquiry,
he priests. e j t h er because they honestly preferred peace of mind
to the agitation of doubt, or because they asked for some
1 Lift, 13-
2 The word is surely justifiable in face of the passage commenting on
the words of the Annunciation : "And when she saw him, she was troubled
al his saying, and thought what manner of salutation that should be." It
is this: "She saw herself alone with one altogether a stranger to her,
whose face she neither knew nor his intent. True it is his language was
smooth and even ; but as fair words as these have often proceeded from a
foul heart. She trembled at the salutation, thinking him to be a man sub-
iect to abhorred lust, and therefore ftc.red violence." Compare this with
the slowness with which the Isabella of Measure for Measure discovers that
the is actually in the presence of a tempter.
28 THE METROPOLITICAL VISITATION. CH. LXXVIII.
assurance of salvation in another world which would dispense
them from the necessity of following in the present life the
precepts common to all Christian churches.
Nor was the English Church herself, as she appeared under
her new rulers, free from blame. Built up in the sixteenth
century by men who strove to reconcile breadth of intellectual
inquiry with a conservative attachment to ancient forms and
habits of thought, she was taking up in the seventeenth century,
under Laud's guidance, a position altogether narrower and less
sympathetic. The tendency to rational inquiry was dwindling
into a contempt for the freespoken, if often ignorant, promptings
of the heart. " A wise and discreet sermon," wrote Shelford,
" not made by every minister, but by a man of reading and
discretion, right well beseemeth this holy place. Preaching is
God's mouth to His people ; therefore great care must be had
that it be not abused either with false doctrines or unsavoury
speeches. In this case St. Paul makes his exclamation, ' Who
is sufficient for these things ? ' How this is regarded, none but
the learned see. Not how well, but a sermon of the vulgar is
expected." l If the better side of the Puritan resistance was
its protest against this attempt to confine teaching to a learned
oligarchy holding correct opinions, the better side of the
Catholic resistance was its protest against Laud's overstrained
appeal to law. If there must be uniformity, why not the uni-
formity of Western Christendom rather than the uniformity
of a single nation ? If the legitimacy of forms of worship was
to be tested by their legality, why not try them by the law of
centuries rather than by the recent legislation of Henry and
Elizabeth ? Such questioning was hard to answer, save by
men in whom the broader spirit of the Reformers was living.
Neither Cranmer nor Laud were men without great virtues
or grave faults. But whilst Cranmer's face had been turned
steadily forward towards the future, Laud's gaze was fixed in
contemplation of a bygone and, to some extent, an imaginary
past.
A ballad of the day gives voice to the increasing feeling of
1 i.e. The vulgar do not ask whether the sermon be good ; any sermon
pleases them. Five Disburses, 35.
1635 THE NEW CLERGY. 129
dislike with which the and- Puritan clergy were regarded. The
Ballad on new churchman of the times, it was said, wore a
the clergy, cardinal's cap as broad as the wheel of a cart, and a
long cassock reaching to his heels. He was so hungry that he
said but a short grace in his hurry to get to his meal, and he
ate so much that he could not say a long grace afterwards. He
swore no man was predestinated, and turned away his curates
if they preached twice in a day. He hoped to be saved by
good works, but never did any ; and on Sundays he played at
cards and dice in order to confute the formalists. He would
not call himself a Protestant, but only a Christian,
" And comes out Catholic the next edition." '
The fear expressed in this line formed the keynote of the grow-
ing ill-temper of the nation. It was the fault of Laud's political
system that every conversion to the Church of Rome acquired
an exaggerated importance. The King's supremacy in Church
and State had received, with Laud's approbation, the widest
interpretation. It was by the King's authority that sweeping
changes had been effected in the Church. Why might not the
King's authority effect more sweeping changes still ? Though
no one as yet ventured to throw doubt on the sincerity of
Charles's Protestantism, the Queen was an acknowledged
Catholic, and she loved, as far as her volatile nature permitted,
to forward the designs of Catholics. The late Lord Treasurer
had died a Catholic, and no one knew how many of the officers
of State were ready to follow his example. There was a spread-
ing apprehension of danger. The English Church, it was
thought, might at any time be the victim of a conspiracy
carried on in the very name of the King, and there were many
who believed that of such a conspiracy Laud was the prime
mover.
es Diary, 79.
VOL. VIII.
CHAPTER LXXIX.
PANZANl's MISSION.
THE position of the Catholics in England had been in some
respects ameliorated since Charles's accession, and more espe-
i6 35 . cially since his quarrel with the House of Commons.
thTc'atho- The payments into the exchequer which, except in
hcs. the cases of a few very wealthy persons, had been
fixed by law at two-thirds of the rental of a recusant landowner,
were commuted for one-third, to be paid by all who came for-
ward voluntarily to claim the benefit of the King's offer. 1 The
arrangement brought more money into the exchequer than had
been brought before. The recusancy fines, which had been
valued at 6,ooo/. a year in 1619, were valued at 20,000'. in 1635.
The burden, however, was more generally diffused, and its
incidence was therefore less oppressive on individuals. Many
Catholics who had not paid before paid now, whilst some
Catholics who had been heavily mulcted found themselves in
a better position. At the same time a check was put upon the
annoyance caused by the visits of pursuivants and spies. The
petty tyranny over poorer Catholics, the seizure of household
furniture from those who had neither lands nor houses, was
lightened, if it did not quite come to an end. Ostensibly there
was no relaxation of the persecuting laws against the priests,
but except in special cases they ceased to be put in force, and
mass was heard in secret wherever a Catholic family was de-
sirous of the privilege.
One circumstance made it difficult for the Catholic clergy
1 The statement of Rushwonh that much less was taken is examined,
and shown to be incorrect, by Lingard, vii. App. III.
1635 THE CATHOLIC CLERGY. 131
to take full advantage of their improved position. Ever since
Divisions the end of the preceding century they had been dis-
cathoiic the un i te d amongst themselves. On one side were the
clergy. religious orders, of which the foremost was the busy
and strictly disciplined Society of Jesus. On the other side
were the more loosely organised secular clergy. At the end of
James's reign the secular clergy had obtained from the Pope
the appointment of a bishop to subject all the clergy in Eng-
land to a uniform discipline. William Bishop first, and then
William Smith, were appointed to the office, with the title of
Bishops of Chalcedon. So bitter was the hostility of the Jesuits
that they did not scruple to inform the Government
Banishment of both these nominations. ' Two proclamations, one
of chaice- P in 1628 the other in 1629, commanded the banish-
ment of Bishop Smith. For two years he remained
hidden in the house of the French ambassador, receiving visits
from the Catholics who came to see him. By the end of that
time the pressure put on him by the Jesuits had made his posi-
,6 3I . tion untenable. In 1631 they circulated a petition to
dr 1 ive J h?m ts t ^ ie PP e against him, which they persuaded a large
away. number of the Catholic nobility and gentry to sign.
If the secular priests are to be trusted, the Jesuits used the
most nefarious means to accomplish their object. Many signa-
tures to the petition were absolutely forged by them. Others
were obtained by misstatements of every kind. 2 The Jesuits
asserted that if a bishop were allowed to establish himself in
England he would set up a jurisdiction of the most galling
description, would take from the laity their confessors, and
meddle with their private affairs. This petition was entrusted to
Coloma, and soon afterwards the attempt to establish episcopal
jurisdiction was abandoned.
The natural desire of the Catholics to spread their religious
The Queen's belief found support in the Queen. Her chapel in
chapel. Somerset House was open to all who chose to visit
it, and though restrictions were occasionally placed by the
1 This appears with respect to Bishop from Lingard, vii. Note K K K,
and with regard to Smith from Panzani's Relation. Atfd. M.SS. 15,^89,
fol. 99. 2 These statements were brought to Panzani.
K 2
132 PANZANPS MISSION. CH. LXXIX.
Government upon the access of visitors, she had always suffi-
cient influence over her husband to obtain their removal. The
Capuchins who officiated in the chapel were unwearied in visit-
ing the sick, and in carrying the consolations of their religion
to those who accepted their ministrations, and their zeal was
often rewarded by conversions from Protestantism.
All this, though shocking in the eyes of contemporary Pro-
testants, has nothing to call for reprobation. The special danger
which had made toleration impossible for Elizabeth
the'catho- had passed away. The Catholics were reckoned by
those who had the best means of judging at about
150,000, in the midst of a population of perhaps somewhat
less than 3,000,000. The advantage of moral and intellectual
Their moral energy was also on the side of Protestantism, un-
posuion. j ess j ts temper had been softened and its strength
relaxed by the Laudian discipline. Even after making every
allowance for the hostile medium through which our know-
ledge is obtained, it cannot be doubted that the discord between
the Jesuits and the secular priests worked ill for the morality of
their flocks. It is from Catholic lips that we learn that the rules
relating to marriage laid down by the rival fathers were hope-
lessly inconsistent with one another, and that one side would
treat a marriage as invalid which had been pronounced valid by
the other. 1 Scandal was given by the light behaviour of young
priests in their intercourse with women. It is no less clear that
a large proportion of the conversions made were utterly worth-
less. Many a nobleman was accustomed to keep in his house a
Catholic priest to reconcile him on his death-bed, as Portland
had been reconciled, a practice which the more honest priests
stigmatised as disgraceful, but which was the result of attributing
to an act done on a death-bed a magical efficacy to wipe away
the iniquity of a whole life. 2
1 Fanzani's letter, ^ eb ' 2 , 1635, R- 0. Transcripts.
March 2
y Compare Panzani's rejoicing that in rnar.y cases the scheme broke
down by death anticipating the arrival of a priest, with the bland satisfac-
tion of Father Cyprian de Gamache at Portland's reconciliation, in Court
and Times, ii. 331.
1634 CHARLES AND PANZANI. 133
The real danger arose not from the Catholic clergy, but from
the Government. Everywhere men were being taught that it
Danger ap- was their duty to submit to the King. They saw prac-
From e the ed ^ ces an< ^ customs everywhere enjoined upon them
Court. o f which they had known nothing before, and they
began to suspect that some deeper motive was in existence than
reached their ears. They knew that language which had been
unheard in the reign of Elizabeth was freely used. The clergy
talked of priests and altars, sometimes of auricular confession
and of honours to be paid to saints. The inference hasty it
may be, but natural enough was that there was a deep plot
to wean the nation from its Protestantism.
Charles had need to walk warily. Unluckily for him, he did
Charles n t perceive the danger which he was running. He
S s u h seo a f n fancied that he could make use of the Pope for his
the Pope. own objects, just as he fancied that he could make
use of the kings of France and Spain.
His first object was to obtain from the Pope a permission for
his Catholic subjects to take the oath of allegiance. In Decem-
!6 34 . ber 1634, Gregorio Panzani, a priest of the Oratory,
Arrival of ^ad arr i ye d in England with a special mission from
Panzani. Rome to settle the disputes amongst the Catholics,
and to obtain from Charles, through the influence of the Queen,
an alleviation of their situation. Charles, who would not openly
receive him, appointed Windebank to hear what he had to say,
and especially to ask that something might be done about the
oath. 1
Panzani had every reason to be satisfied with Windebank.
Morally and intellectually timid, the Secretary was thoroughly
,635. alarmed at the progress of Puritanism, and looked
pann1Tnd anxiousl y about for a shelter against the storm, of
Windebank. w hich he could avail himself without an absolute
surrender of all the ideas which he had imbibed in his child-
hood and youth. By the side of Portland and Cottington he
shows to advantage. If he was a weak man, he was not with-
out a certain honesty of purpose, and if he missed the way in
1 Panzani's letter, Jan. -?, R. 0. Transcripts.
1 34 PANZANPS MISSION. CH. LXXIX.
his searchings after truth, it was at least truth that he sought,
and not pelf in this world or exemption from punishment in the
other. It is easy to understand how this honesty of purpose
had commended him to Laud, and how his hesitation and
general weakness drew him into courses of which Laud could
not approve.
Panzani and Windebank had not often met before they
began to talk of other things besides the oath of allegiance. In
1634, Christopher Davenport, a friar who went by the name of
Franciscus a Santa Clara, and who was a brother of the John
Davenport who had been one of the feoffees and who had sub-
1634. sequently emigrated to New England, had published
?ura' Na ' a book Deus, Natura, Gratia the object of which
Gratia. was to explain away the differences between the
Church of Rome and the Church of England. Windebank and
Charles himself looked hopefully to the strength which they
would derive from some kind of understanding with Rome, the
exact nature of which they had not defined to themselves,
and Windebank was therefore shocked to hear that the Pope
thought of censuring the book. Panzani listened to his ex-
postulations, and saw a possibility of drawing over to his side
men who were so well pleased to explain away the differences
between the Churches. He at once took the measure of
Windebank's intelligence. He wrote to Rome for a quantity
of sacred pictures and artificial flowers to be distributed in
presents among the King's ministers. " In this way," he ex-
plained, " we shall gain not only the men, but their wives and
daughters as well." 1
Panzani found that the King did not welcome the idea of
seeing a Catholic bishop m England. Windebank had less ob-
1635. jection. He wished for quiet times, and a good under-
paaYa 'en* standing between the King and the Pope seemed
in England, admirably suited to forward his aim. He suggested
that the Pope should send an agent to reside with the Queen,
who might be employed to smooth away difficulties, and that
the Queen might have an agent at Rome for a similar purpose.
1 Panzani's letter, Jan. *- , R. 0. Transcripts.
1635 PANZANI AND WINDEBANK. 135
It is hardly likely that he would have made so important an
overture without directions from his master. 1
A few weeks later Windebank showed that his views of ac-
commodation went far beyond the good offices of ambassadors.
Why, he asked, could not the Church of Rome allow
March. .
Religious communion in both kinds ? Panzani referred him to
conversation , , f /- i , , . i
with winde- the works of Catholic authors to enlighten his mind.
Windebank was evidently half-convinced already.
" If it were not," he said, " for the Jesuits and the Puritans, we
should perhaps unite with Rome." Panzani told him that if so
great an object was to be attained, the Pope would make no
difficulty in removing the Jesuits from England.
Windebank would plainly have been glad to get rid of the
Jesuits. With men of his temper, strength of will and force of
windebank's character are always annoying. As for the Puritans
supnre'Ldn'g ne ventured to suggest a splendid scheme of his own
the Puritans. f or suppressing them. The King was at that time pre-
paring to send forth the fleet which was to be supported by the
first levy of ship-money. Why, said the Secretary to Panzani,
should not the King place soldiers under trusty commanders on
board the vessels ? He might easily find a pretext to keep some
of them in London. Others he might post at other important
points. In this way he might be without fear. He might
weed out seditious persons from his kingdom by sending them
to the wars in Flanders. The priest replied that Charles might
count upon the Pope to supply him with captains, soldiers, and
money. Such was the discourse which an English Secretary
of State allowed himself to carry on with a foreign ecclesiastic.
The year before Windebank had been employed by Charles to
contrive how the naval forces of England could be used against
a friendly nation. This year he was contriving how they could
be used against Englishmen. No wonder that the path which
he took diverged from the path of Laud.
Panzani humoured the man with whom he had to deal,
and asked him what concessions the English Church would
require if it was to effect a reunion with Rome. Windebank
1 Panzani's letter, -r-. -V , R. 0. Transcripts.
' March a f
136 PANZANPS MISSION. CH. LXXIX.
went through the usual list Communion in both kinds, the
Terms of mass and other offices in English, and permission
Rome dU- Uh to t ^ e clergy to marry. Panzani listened sympatheti-
cussed. cally, but took care to promise nothing. He sug-
gested that the last demand proceeded from the married clergy
themselves. Windebank, whose own comfortable family life
was not threatened, acknowledged that he himself detested the
idea of the marriage of the clergy. Panzani pressed him at
least to advocate liberty of conscience for the Catholics.
Windebank assured him that the King would make no diffi-
culty about that, if only the Catholics would take the oath of
allegiance. 1
Panzani was not without hope that something might come
of these overtures. He reported that Catholic doctrines were
growing in favour with the Court. Two sermons had
March.
Tone of the been preached before the King recommending sacra-
mental confession, and the conversation had turned
on the subject at the King's supper table. A lady remarked
that if confession were introduced the clergy must not marry,
lest they should tell their wives of all the sins confided to
them. Panzani thought that Divine Providence was leading
the English to appreciate the blessings of a celibate priesthood. 3
Windebank was not so hopeful. The King, he said, had
already given permission to the Queen to send an agent to
Rome, but it would take another century to effect the reunion
of the Churches. If the Pope would allow the Catholics to
take the oath of allegiance in a modified form, it would be a
step in the right direction. Panzani, however, found that there
were bad signs as well as good ones. Laud had been preaching
that tradition was not to be trusted as much as the Scriptures.
Others, besides the Secretary, treated Panzani with
win yield* courtesy. Arundel showed him his pictures and
nothing. statues. Cottington reverently took off his hat when-
ever the Pope's name was mentioned. If, however, these men
> Panzani's letter, j^p, R. 0. Transcripts.
... -,, i 17, 20, March 27 ?
Ibid.. March 3 3 >3o ; Apr . 16 - 7 , ,fe
1635 PANZANI AND THE QUEEN. 137
expected the Pope to make concessions to the English Govern-
ment, they were now undeceived. Panzani had to announce
that he would propose nothing about the modification of the
oath, and that Deus, Natura y Gratia had been pro-
. scribed at Rome. The King was vexed at the news,
especially as a book had lately appeared arguing on behalf of
the right of subjects to depose their kings.
At this moment Portland's death had just taken place.
Rumours reached Panzani that Parliament was to be sum-
moned. The Secretary assured him that they were
on'pariia- quite untrue. " O the great judgments of God ! "
said Windebank. "He never punishes men with
those means by which they have offended. That pig of a
Henry VIII. committed such sacrilege by profaning so many
ecclesiastical benefices in order to give their goods to those
who being so rewarded might stand firmly for the King in the
Lower House ; and now the King's greatest enemies are those
who are enriched by these benefices." Cottington took the
matter less seriously. " Who told you such nonsense ? " he
said, laughingly, when Panzani spoke to him of his fears of a
Parliament.
To some extent the Queen helped Panzani. She brought
the little Prince to mass, and talked the King out of his dis-
pleasure ; but she could not be induced to give her-
wiit not C ap- self much trouble. She would take up warmly any
ply herself. S p ec j a i case o f persecution ; but constant application
to business of any kind was not to be expected from her. l
Week by week Panzani noted in his letters various reasons
for hopefulness. Carlisle told him that he was quite ready to
accept all that was taught at Rome, except the claim
Panzani's of the Pope to depose kings. Lord Herbert of
hopes. Cherbury talked to him about his contemplated
History of Henry VIII., assuring him that if he told the
truth of that sovereign he would have little good to say of him,
and that he would treat his subject as favourably as possible to
the Church of Rome. He acknowledged, he said, the Roman
i i March 27 . .. 10, April 24 ,, ,-, ...
> Panzani's letters, -j^^f, April j[ lay - 4 , X. 0. Transcripts.
138 PANZANPS MISSION. CH. LXXIX.
Church as the mother of all churches, and would be glad to
submit his book, De Veritate, to the judgment of the Pope.
At Cambridge, a Dr. Martin to whom Windebank recommended
Panzani, showed him some pictures of saints in pontifical vest
ments, saying with a sigh, " Ah, when will such splendour be
restored to our Church ? " Walter Montague, the witty and
accomplished favourite of the Queen, came to announce his
departure for Rome, and his intention to become a Father of
the Oratory. 1
It was not so easy to bring Windebank to the point. " It
is very difficult," he said, " to leave the religion in which one
September has been born." "If only," he murmured, "Rome
winde- had but a little charity." 2 Before the end of
bank s hesi-
tation. October, however, Windebank announced to Pan-
zani that he had now received the King's orders to confer with
him on the reunion with Rome. Laud, he added,
October.
Lauds pre- had warned the King that if 'he wished to go to
Rome, the Pope would not stir a step to meet him.'
It may be that the King's expressions were exaggerated
by Windebank. At all events, preparations were being made
An agent to f r despatching an agent to reside in Rome on the
go to Rome. Q ueen ' s behalf. Sir Robert Douglas, who was first
chosen, died suddenly, and the King then selected Arthur
Brett, who had once been set up by Middlesex as a rival of
Buckingham. Con, a Scotchman, was named as a fitting
person to represent the Pope at Somerset House. 3
In the beginning of November, Panzani received an invita-
tion to confer with Bishop Montague, the author of the Appello
NOV. 3. Ccesarem. Years had passed away since Montague
^ ish e >I on Vl he na< ^ en g a g e d in literary varfare with priests and
reunion. Puritans alike. He now told Panzani ' that, after
reflecting deeply or the matter, he confessed ingenuously that
he did not know why the reunion should not be made, as he
knew that the two Archbishops, the Bishop of London, and some
othe bishops, with many of the most learned clergy, held the
1 Panzani's letter, July '-f, R. 0. Transcripts.
Ibid., Sept. -, ibid. 3 Ibid., Oct. ^, ibid.
12 2 4 '
1635 PANZANI AND MONTAGUE. 139
opinions of Rome on dogma, and especially on the authority
of the Pope, whom he confessed to be the Vicar of Christ, the ^
successor of St. Peter, without whom nothing could be deter-
mined to bind the whole Church, nor could a Council be con-
voked.' 'He said freely,' added Panzani, 'that he believed
what I believed, except transubstantiation.' The bishop then
went on to say that the best thing would be to hold a conference
of deputies on both sides, to meet in France. Panzani expressed
his satisfaction, but declined to write to the Pope till the pro-
posal was made by the King or by some public minister in his
name. Montague acknowledged this to be right, arid promised
to speak with Laud on the subject, adding, however, that Laud
was 'very timid and circumspect.' 1
Montague ought to have known better than to have applied
such epithets to Laud. Neither the Archbishop nor the King
Bretfs in- was likely to listen seriously to the scheme. Charles,
structions. however, in the hope of gaining something for him-
self, did not object to play with danger. It cannot be said
how far he shared Windebank's belief that it would be a great
advantage to have some one to excommunicate his subjects if
they proved unruly, but at all events he had hopes of bringing
the Pope to help him about the Palatinate. The greater part of
the instructions given to Brett related to his nephew's affairs. 2
Brett's mission caused no slight commotion at Court. The
King's behaviour was all the more eagerly watched. It was
told how, when he visited the Queen's new chapel in
Somerset House and gave directions about placing
the pictures, he bowed reverentially as he left the building.
Walter Montague's conversion became a subject of gossip, and
the letter in which he announced it to his father, the Earl of
Manchester, passed from hand to hand. 3
Almost every week Panzani had to write of the growing
1 ' Pauroso e circonspetto ; ' Panzani's letter, Nov. , R. 0. Tran-
scripts.
2 Ibid, Nov. -, ibid.
21
* W. Montague to Manchester, Nov. 21, S. P. Dom. cccii. 50.
Panzani's letter, Dec. , R. 0. Transcripts. Garrard to Wentworth,
Dec., Jan. 8, Strafford Letters, i. 489, 505.
MO PANZANPS MISSION. CH. LXXIX.
disposition at Court to regard the Catholic doctrines with
1636. favour. The Queen had promised to do her best to
Panzant's'' bring up her son as a Catholic. Goring was found
news. reading Catholic books. Goodman, Bishop of Glou-
cester, said divine offices in private out of the Roman Breviary,
and asked permission to keep an Italian priest to say mass
secretly in his house. Cottington had been ill, and had made
his usual declaration of Catholicism. Such indications were
of little value independently, but they served to show how the
tide was running, and they were certain to appear in the eyes of
Protestants to be of far more importance than they really were. 1
The King took alarm. He had been willing to be on
friendly terms with the Pope, but he had no idea of sacrificing
his ecclesiastical or political position to the See of
gains in- Rome. In January Laud's influence seemed to be
at an end. On the 23rd he assured Wentworth of his
belief that Cottington would soon have the Treasurer's staff. 2
In February he had better hopes. The Queen was prohibited
from taking the Prince with her to mass. Montague's promised
meeting with Panzani was postponed. 3 Cottington found that
his chances of grasping the Treasurer's staff were rapidly
slipping away.
As soon as it had become clear that Wentworth would not
leave Ireland, Laud had selected the Bishop of London as his
candidate for the vacant office. Cottington, as soon
January.
Cottington's as he saw his danger, had redoubled his intrigues.
He carried to Necolalde news of the latest utterances
of the King in the Committee of Foreign Affairs. He flattered
the Queen, and offered to do his best to forward the great
scheme for the reunion of the Churches. He expressed to
Seneterre his willingness to support the designs of France
against Spain, as he had previously expressed to Necolalde
his willingness to support the designs of Spain against France.
Perhaps Charles had some inkling of his double-dealing.
1 Panzani 's letters, Jan., Feb., R. 0. Transcripts.
2 Laud to Wentworth, Jan. 23, Works, vii. 229.
* Panzani's letters, Feb. - 17 , R. 0. Transcripts.
13, 27' '
1636 A NEW LORD TREASURER. 141
Perhaps he shrank from entrusting an office so important to
one who supported, however fitfully, the Catholic propaganda. 1
At all events, he decided in favour of Juxon. The Bishop
Februar was m d est an( ^ unassuming, and had shown himself
The King to be possessed of habits of business in his manage -
resolves to .., <>o. TIIS-III
make juxon ment of the property of St. Johns College during
irer ' the time of his Presidentship. He had neither wife
nor family to tempt him to amass wealth, and his honesty was
beyond dispute.
As soon as Cottington knew his fate, he accepted it with
his usual cheerfulness. He mystified Seneterre by assuring
him that being himself too ill to attend to the duties
and SMC-" of the office, he had recommended the bishop as a '
friend of his own. The suggestion, he continued,
had been accepted by Laud, who had said that he did not care
who was Treasurer as long as Cottington was not. Seneterre,
who did not believe the story, replied by warm congratulations
on his recovery, upon which Cottington returned his best wishes
for the success of the Frenchman's diplomacy. Seneterre was
fairly puzzled at his cool audacity. Was Cottington simply
angling for a French pension, or did he foresee the failure of
Charles's negotiations with the Emperor, and so wish to be on
the winning side ? 2
Language which only amused Seneterre exasperated Laud.
On March 6, 1636, the Archbishop was gratified by the ap-
pointment of a Treasurer who would never make a
March 6.
juxon joke or accept a bribe. In delivering the staff to
irer ' Juxon, Charles explained that he needed a minister
who would be 'discreet and provident for the good of his children
whom God had blessed him with. Such a conscionable man,
he thought, might best be found amongst the clergy.' "Among
the clergy," he continued, turning to Juxon as he spoke, " I
judge you, my Lord of London, the fittest, since you have no
children." 3 " No churchman," noted Laud in his diary, " had
1 Seneterre to Bouthillier, -^ **, Bibl. Nat. Fr. 15,993.
2 Ibid., Feb. 3 ' *' ^ eb '' 4 , ibid.
13, 20, March 5
1 Crosfield's Diary, in Laud's Works, iii. 226, note.
142 PANZANPS MISSION. CH. LXXIX.
it since Henry the Seventh's time. I pray God bless him to
carry it so that the Church may have honour, and the King
and the State service and contentment by it ; and now if the
Church will not hold up themselves under God, I can do no
more." l
Laud's song of triumph was, in fact, a confession of weak
ness. Not one layman, forsooth, not even one married clergy-
man, to be found in England, who could be trusted
confession of as Juxon was trusted ! Was this the result of Laud's
weakness. g rea { religious revival ? Were Middlesex and Port-
land fair samples of the laity of England ? Had Charles no
choice between a Juxon and a Cottington?
Juxon himself made no enemies. He did his work quietly
and industriously, never had a sharp word for anyone, and
juxon at the kept sedulously aloof from the factions into which
Treasury. j^g c our t was divided. Nevertheless, there was loud
murmuring amongst the English lords at his elevation, as there
had been murmuring amongst the Scottish lords at Spottis-
woode's elevation the year before. The irritation which had
been stirred in the winter by the exaction of ship-money
acquired a sharper, more personal edge in the spring. The
clergy, it was said, were drawing all employments into their
hands. The voice which had been raised from the manor
houses of every county found an echo in the presence chamber
of Whitehall. 2 When the bishops were seen riding through
1 Laud's Works,, iii. 226. Heylyn (Cypr. Angl, 285) says Laud had
ail-covered that a Treasurer could honestly make 7,ooo/. a year without
defrauding the King or abusing the subject. He had also observed ' that
tivers Treasurers of late years had raised themselves from only mean and
private fortunes to the titles and estates of Earls, which he conceived could
not be done without wrong to both : and therefore he resolved to commend
such a man lo his Majesty for the next Lord Treasurer who, having no
family to raise, no wife and children to provide for, might better manage
the incomes of the Treasury to the King's advantage than they had been
formerly/
2 Correr to the Doge, March ", Ven. MSS. In his despatch of
-r TT 3 , he describes Juxon as follows : ' Certo e persona di grand' in-
tegrita, i.iente appassionato di aicun partito, condizione stimata molto
1636 PROPOSED REUNION WITH ROME. 143
the streets, the bystanders would, half-jestingly, half-angrily,
call one another's attention to the passage of the Church
triumphant. 1
Laud was in as much danger from his friends as from his
enemies. He could place a dependent at the Treasury, and
he could cite Puritans before the High Commission ;
aloof from 5 but the fatal power of enforcing silence upon others
am ' brought upon him the responsibility for all that was
spoken or written against the Puritans. Though both he and
Juxon refused even to see Panzani, and kept themselves strictly
aloof from the intrigue which was gathering round him, they
could not stop the mouths of others. Bishop Mon-
March 20.
Montague's tague, in a sermon preached before the King, recom-
mended that stone altars should be substituted for
the communion-tables. In his diocese, he boasted to Panzani,
there was not a minister who would venture to speak against
the Pope. Laud, he added, was well-intentioned, but very
timid. Panzani told him plainly that he must not expect
Rome to change an iota of her dogmas. Montague professed
that he looked for no such change, but Panzani suspected
strongly that when special points came under discussion the
agreement would not be found so great as the Bishop thought.
Montague, he found, expected his orders to be recognised at
Rome, which, as he knew very well, was a concession most
unlikely to be made. Evidently the Bishop was
deceiving himself if he expected to join Rome
otherwise than on her own terms. He himself, however, did
not see the difficulty. With the exception of Morton, Davenant,
and Hall, he said, all the bishops were enemies of the Puritans.
Half-jestingly, Panzani said to him that he would be a Papist
one day. " What harm," he replied, " would there be in that ? "
As to the reunion, he had no doubt of its achievement. " I
see," he said, " things insensibly improving through the pro-
motion of moderate men." 2
pregiabile, non trovandosi cosi ordinariamente a tempi present! in ogni
persona. "
' May, Hist, of the Parliament^ 23.
* Panzani's letter, Mardp^pril^ R Q 7.,^,
April 2, May 7
144 PANZANPS MISSION. CH. i.xxix.
It is beyond doubt that in thus speaking Montague wronged
the greater part of his episcopal colleagues. But that which
Charles and seemed possible to him might easily seem certain to
the reunion, others, and Laud had to bear the blame of extrava-
gances which he would never have countenanced himself. Nor
could he ever feel sure of the King. Doubtless he knew that
Charles would not lay his crown at the feet of the Pope, or
sanction an abandonment of the specific doctrines of the
English Church. But it was less easy to calculate on his
actions than on his aims, and nothing was more likely than
that he would swerve from the straight path by sheer inability
to realise the direction in which each special concession was
tending. He had had no objection to talk over the reunion
as something within the range of possibility, and he had wel-
comed heartily the notion of sending an agent to Rome in the
Queen's name. Brett had fallen ill, and died in the begin-
Hamiitonto nm g f April. A substitute was found for him in
go to Rome. William Hamilton, a brother of the Earl of Abercorn.
The selection of a Scotchman was particularly offensive to
the English courtiers. 1 At the same time it was given out by
con to come Panzani that Con would come with great splendour
to England. to rev j ve t h e esteem for the Papal name. The King,
remarked the Venetian ambassador, would probably wish his
splendour to be less conspicuous. 2
About the same time a circumstance occurred which showed
that in matters of discipline at least, Laud could depend on
the King. Long ago the marriage which James had
Case of Lady arranged between Buckingham's brother and Frances
Coke had ended in the scandal which, as in the case
of Lady Essex, was the sad result of the cruelty which had
bound a lively and sprightly girl to a husband who was dis-
tasteful to her. James could turn Sir John Villiers into
Viscount Purbeck, but he could not make him an agreeable
or sensible man. When, in a few years his weakness of mind
assumed the form of absolute insanity, his wife left him to live
1 Panzani's letters, April ^ 3 , May ~ g , J?. 0. Transcripts.
Correr's despatch, - v ". % Vtn. MSS.
ib35 LADY PURBECK'S CASE. 145
in adultery with Sir Robert Howard, a younger son of Lord
Treasurer Suffolk. In 1624 proceedings were commenced
against her in the High Commission Court, which
ended three years later in a sentence of separation
from her husband and the injunction of penance to be performed
for her fault. At that time, however, she eluded the authority
of the court, and it may well be believed that the officials did
not show any great eagerness to expose the sister-in-law of the
great Duke in a white sheet to the gaze of a London mob.
I^ady Purbeck soon found her way to her paramour, living with
him for many years and bearing him children at his house in
Shropshire.
In the spring of 1635 Sir Robert and the lady ventured to
come to London in company. Charles, whose feelings of pro-
1635. priety were offended, bade Laud to abate the scandal,
muafand Lady Purbeck was accordingly arrested, thrown into
escape. fa e Gatehouse, and ordered by the High Commission
to perform the penance which she had hitherto avoided. Before
the appointed day arrived, Sir Robert had bribed the keeper of
the prison, dressed his mistress in man's clothes, and sent her
off in this disguise to France. The court at once called him
to account, and ordered his imprisonment till he produced the
partner of his guilt. He remained in the Gatehouse till June,
when he was set free upon bond not to come into her company
again. 1
In February 1636 a fresh effort was made to enforce the
sentence of the court. A writ was issued commanding Lady
Purbeck to return to England upon her allegiance,
Feb. s. and Lord Scudamore, the English ambassador in
moned S tJ> m Paris, was directed to serve it on her if he could find
England. ner> 2 Scudamore's messenger discovered the house
March 7. m w hich she was, and threw the box containing the
writ in at the window. This barefaced attempt to serve the
King of England's writ in the streets of Paris quickly drew the
1 Laud's Works, iii. 392. Acts of High Commission, Ap. 16, 23, 30,
June 3, S. P. Dam. cclxi. fol. 191, 201, 209 b, 214 b, 218.
* Warrant, Feb. 8, S. P. Dom. cccxiii. 58. Coke to Scudair.ore,
March 7, 5. P. France.
VOL. VIII. L
146 PANZANPS MISSION. CH. LXXIX
attention of Richelieu, and a guard of fifty archers was at once
sent to offer protection. In the end, Lady Purbeck withdrew
for safety to a nunnery. 1
Lady Purbeck had recently announced her conversion to
the Papal Church. Immediately, all the weapons in the
Efforts in armoury of that Church were put in use in her favour,
her favour. Tri e Duchess of Buckingham, who, much to the
King's disgust had recently married the young Irish Lord
Dunluce, was induced to speak in her behalf, and to urge
Lady Denbigh to forbear inciting the King against her erring
sister-in-law. The Queen of France wrote to Hen-
rietta Maria begging her to procure a licence for
Lady Purbeck's return to England, and even Cardinal
Barberini wrote a similar letter, which was only kept
T i back by Panzani after he heard that the lady had left
the nunnery, and that she was therefore not to be
regarded as having 'an entire reputation.' 2
Lady Purbeck, in fact, was not exactly the sort of person
to find herself at home in a nunnery. She refused to conform
to the regulations of the establishment. The nuns
Lady Pur- , ,
beck leaves soon began to regard her with aversion. One day
*' they omitted to provide her dinner. She resolved
to leave the shelter which they had afforded to her. In July
she was at large in Paris, and it was reported that Sir Robert
Howard was on his way to join her. 3
Under these circumstances Charles was firm. He refused
to allow Lady Purbeck to come home. For some time she
continued in Paris, living in much distress. 4
In the summer of 1636 the Metropolitical Visitation was
almost drawing to a close. A few months later the searching
End of the light of inquiry would have been thrown upon every
mi e (2Tiiiu- diocese i n England. Slothful inactivity, petulant self-
two. w in > an d ) a j as ! a i so religious zeal and conscientious
conviction, had been alike rebuked and irritated. Laud's last
1 Scudamore to Coke, March 25, S. P. France.
T\ M i .1 April 27. June 28 T . IQ n s\ m .*
Panzani s letters. * " t> . ,-- r-, July-*, It. O. Transcripts.
May 7, July 8 ' J 3 29
Scudamore to Coke, July 11, S. P. France.
Sir K. Digby to Conway, Jan. 21, 1637, S. P. Dom. cccxliv. 58.
1636 OXFORD UNDER LAUD. 147
triumph was the allowance of his claim to include the Universi-
june at. ties in his visitation. This claim was debated before
tcfvilit the" the King and Council, and decided in his favour.
Universities AS far as Oxford was concerned the victory was of
ledged. slight importance. During his vigorous Chancellor-
ship, opposition, though it still existed, had long ago been
silenced. An admiring crowd of masters and doctors looked
up to him as their patron and benefactor. In Cambridge it
was far otherwise. Under the protection of their Chancellor,
Holland, that University had set the Archbishop at defiance.
Scholars were in the habit of attending chapel without their
surplices. Some of the chapels had never been consecrated,
and Laud's remonstrances had been met by the sharp answer
that 'they were consecrated by faith and good conscience.'
He now hoped to be able to settle all such matters in his own
way, in spite of Holland. 1
Again and again he had shown his affection to Oxford by
presents of valuable books. A choice collection of Arabic
manuscripts in the Bodleian still bears his name.
June 22.
The oxford He now sent down a body of statutes for the regula-
tion of the University, which were cheerfully accepted
by Convocation. They were introduced by Secretary Coke in
a speech which may fairly be regarded as a defiance alike of
the Puritan malcontents and of the sympathisers with Rome.
" That which commands in chief," he said, " is his Majesty's
sovereign power. . . . Him we all acknowledge to be our
Coke's supreme governor, both of Church and Common-
speech, wealth, over all causes and persons, and to his su-
premacy and allegiance we are all obliged by oath. This, then,
we must built upon as an axiom and fundamental rule of
government, that all our laws and statutes are the King's laws,
and that none can be enacted, changed, or abrogated without
him ; so all courts of law or equity are properly the King's
courts ; all justice therein administered, be it civil or martial,
is the King's justice ; and no pardon or grace proceeds from
any but from the King. And, as of justice, so is he the source
1 Rushworth, iii.
L 2
148 PANZANI'S MISSION. CH. LXXIX.
of honour ; all dignities, all degrees, all titles, arms, and orders,
come originally from the King as branches from the root ; and
not only particular men and families, but all corporations,
societies, nay counties, provinces, and depending kingdoms,
have all their jurisdictions and governments established by him
for public good to be changed or dissolved. So his power
reach eth to foreign plantations, where he may erect princi-
palities, and niake laws for their good government which no
man may disobey. 1 And as in the temporal, so in the state
ecclesiastical, his regal power by ancient right extendeth to the
erection of bishoprics, deaneries, and cathedral churches, and
to settle orders for government in all churches, by the advice
of his own clergy, without any concurrence of foreign usurping
power."
Coke's speech was an assertion of absolute power flung in
the face of Popes and Parliaments alike. He proceeded to
Coke on the justify the authority which he claimed for Charles
Ibso'iut^ by the effects which it had produced. The clergy,
power. h e sa jd ) had been shielded from ' rich encroaching
ministers and patrons,' churches had been built and restored,
order and virtue had come back to the University. Whilst the
Continent was a prey to war and starvation, England was in
better case. " We sit here," said the Secretary, " thankful in
true devotion for this wonderful favour towards us ; we enjoy
peace and plenty ; we are like to those who resting in a calm
haven behold the shipwreck of others, wherein we have no part,
save only in compassion to help them with our prayers." 2
So spoke Sir John Coke in his self-satisfied optimism. So
believed Charles and Laud. It may be that it was with some
thought of proving to the world that he was not led
poisto vSt captive by Panzani, that Charles determined to show
Oxford - himself at Oxford in the midst of that University in
which the standard of Anglican orthodoxy was most uncom-
promisingly raised.
The chief part of the favour shown to Oxford would fall
1 Probably a hit at the Massachusetts settlers, of whom more hereafter.
J Laud's Works, v. 13$.
1636 -. ' LAUD AND WINDEBANK. 149
upon Laud. Before he set out to take his place at the head
of the University, Juxon made a feeble attempt to
Attempt to reconcile him with Windebank. He urged that it
i!audand was hard to quarrel with an old friend merely be-
Wmdebank. cause o f a difference of opinion about a soap com-
pany. Windebank might surely be allowed the privilege of
changing his opinions. " True," replied Laud, " but why did
he not acquaint me with this alteration of judgment ? " J It was
not, in short, the thing that he had done, but the manner in
which he had done it ; the clinging, too, Laud might have said,
if he had spoken all, to men whom he himself judged to be
utterly vile and selfish. There could be no friendship between
the man who was scheming for a reunion with Rome, and the
man to whom the English Church was a model for all churches,
perfect and complete in itself.
" That which is the worst of all, they say," Cottington had
written of Laud when the quarrel was at its height, " he can
Aug. 29. never be reconciled where once he takes dis-
op^mon'of' 5 pleasure." 2 The same absorption in the public in-
Laud. terest, and the same want of consideration for the
feelings of others which made him regard those as private
enemies who were injuring the cause which he himself upheld,
made him inconsiderate of the prejudices of others, and re-
gardless of the courtesies of life. One day young
Hyde scon- ~ , .,,.,.
versation Hyde ventured to expostulate with him. ' I he
people,' he said, ' were universally discontented and '
many ' spoke extreme ill of his Grace, as the cause of all that
was amiss.' Laud answered that he was sorry for it, but it was
his duty to serve the King and the Church. He could not
abandon them to please the people. Hyde explained that his
enemies were not confined to those who were the enemies of
the King and Church. His roughness of manner was uni-
versally disliked. Two Wiltshire gentlemen, for instance, who
had lately appeared before the Council on business, had been
treated with respect by all the councillors but himself. Coming
to him at Lambeth to discover the reason of so strange a
1 Juxon to Windebank, Aug. 13, S. P. Dom. cccxxx. 33.
* Ccttington to Wemworth, Aug. 4, 1635, Strajford Letters, L 449.
150 PANZANPS MISSION. CH. LXXIX.
reception, he would not even listen to their inquiries. Saying
that 'he had no leisure for compliments,' he had turned
hastily away. To Hyde Laud replied that he was sorry if he
had appeared to be rude. But it could not be helped. " It is
not possible for me," he concluded, " in the many occupations
I have, to spend any time in unnecessary compliments. If my
integrity and uprightness, which never shall be liable to re-
proach, cannot be strong enough to preserve me, I must submit
to God's pleasure." 1
At Oxford, Laud had thrown off the cares of business, and
had forgotten his enmities for a season. On the morning of
the day on which the King was to arrive, the gowns-
Laud at ' men flocked to St. John's to do homage to their
Chancellor. ' Courteous he was to all, but walked
most and entertained longest my Lord Cottington.' At one
o'clock the bell rang, and doctors in their scarlet gowns rode
forth with Laud at their head to await the King two miles from
the city. The citizens, too, as in duty bound, were mustered
in sombre black, bringing into the scene that element of un-
official life which as yet seemed but brute material in the hands
of Laud. When the King had been Welcomed and
The King s
visit. had conducted the Queen to her lodgings at Christ-
church, he attended the service in the cathedral. In the
evening was acted in the spacious and stately Christchurch
Hall a play, which Lord Carnarvon declared to be ' the worst
that ever he saw but one that he saw at Cambridge.' He
was not far wrong. William Strode, the Public Orator, from
whose pen it proceeded, had introduced into it the usual
hits at the fraudulent feoffees, at Prynne, shorn of his ears,
and at the hypocritical Puritan whose religion was a cloak
for the grossest profligacy. Even at Court these topics were
not quite so attractive as they would have been three years
before. 2
The next morning the Elector Palatine, accompanied by his
younger brother, Prince Rupert, was introduced to Convoca-
1 Clarendon's Life, \. J2.
* The Floating Island was printed in 1655, when anything written
against the Puritans would find a ready sale amongst Royalists.
1636 CHARLES AND LAUD AT OXFORD. 151
tion. Charles Lewis had been created a Master of Arts at
Cambridge. Oxford, by the mouth of Laud, declared that it was
Aug. 30. beneath the dignity of one who conferred degrees
The Paiati- a t his own University of Heidelberg to receive a de-
nate princes J <
at Oxford, gree himself. If he would be pleased to nominate
some persons as doctors, the University was ready to ratify his
choice. He at once named thirteen. A mastership of arts
was conferred upon Prince Rupert. Appropriate presents
were made to both the King's nephews. To the Elector was
assigned a copy of Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity, intended
perhaps as a warning against the seductions of Calvinism.
The hot-headed and adventurous Rupert received Caesar's
Commentaries. If he had studied more deeply the lessons
taught by the wariest and most self-controlled of com-
manders, the Civil War might have ended otherwise than
it did.
As soon as the ceremony was over, Charles was taken
to see the wonders of the University. The Bodleian Library
claimed his special attention. He lingered there for more than
an hour, and was loth to leave the place. Laud pointed to
the Royal bust standing above the shelves, so that the library
was, as it were, placed under his Majesty's protection. Then
he took him to St. John's, where his own new buildings were
just completed. The grey marble of which the pillars were
composed brought to mind another servant, the new Lord
Treasurer. To the end of his life Juxon was fond of hunting,
and the pillars had been fetched from a quarry which had
been discovered by the late President of the College whilst
following the hounds near Woodstock.
Then there was St. John's library to be visited, and a grand
banquet given by the Archbishop to be partaken of. Presents
The ban ^ meat anc ^ g ame had been sent from all quarters,
quet. A good judge spoke of the entertainment as a mighty
feast, in days when noblemen were vying with one another in
the costliness and profusion of their hospitalities. Nor were
the great alone invited to partake. ' His Grace had provided
at his own charge sufficient to feed, nay feast all, from the
hignest rank of men even to the guard and footmen of both
152 PANZANPS MISSION. CH. LXXIX.
Courts.' In the afternoon there was another play ; and a
third, The Royal Slave, by Cartwright, followed in the evening.
The Queen was so pleased with it that she had it repeated
some months later at Hampton Court, borrowing the dresses
used at Oxford for the occasion. The next morning the Court
retired to Woodstock.
Amongst the noblemen who accompanied Charles on this
occasion were some who a few short years later were to take
opposite sides in the civil strife. Essex bore the sword be-
fore the King, seriously and solemnly, as may be imagined.
Pembroke with his empty head was there too, nodding
approval of the play for which as Lord Chamberlain he con-
ceived himself to be in some sort officially responsible.
Besides the lords and gentlemen in attendance, the Court was
accompanied by one figure who must have seemed to many as
a dark blot on the joyous scene. Panzani, just about to leave
England, and to give place to Con, had come to enjoy Laud's
hospitalities, and to express his astonishment at the poor figure
cut by the Puritan in Strode's play.
Some of the visitors found in Oxford objects of greater
attraction than the plays. '"The churches or chapels of all
the Colleges," wrote one of them, "are much
rations of the beautified ; extraordinary cost bestowed on them,
chapels, scarce any cathedral church, not Windsor or Canter-
bury, nay, not St. Paul's choir, exceeds them. Most of them
new glazed ; richer glass for figures and paintings I have not
seen, which they had most from beyond the seas ; excellently
paved their choirs with black and white stone. Where the east
end admits not glass, excellent pictures, large and great, church
work of the best kind they could get from the other side, of
the birth, passion, resurrection, and ascension of our blessed
Saviour ; all their communion-tables fairly covered with rich
carpets, hung some of them with good hangings." !
For Laud and his followers there was free expression of
1 Garrard to Conway, Sept. 4, S. P. Dom, cccxxxii. 14. Wood's Hist.
Antiq. of Oxford > ii. 408. Panzani's letter, Sept. 6 , R. O. Transcripts.
1636 CHARLES AT OXFORD. 153
devotional religion. For the Puritan there was sharp coercion
and ridicule. As yet the Puritan met the attack in
No anthu- * .
siasm in the gloomy silence, i he enthusiasm shown at Oxford
was confined to the officials of the University. Red-
gowned doctors, with those immediately under their influence,
and courtly youths paid their compliments in sonorous Latin.
But no loud salutation rang in the ears of Charles as he passed
through the streets. Not a cry of " God save the King ! " was
raised. 1 The scholars and the citizens were alike silent
1 Wood, ii. 408.
CHAPTER LXXX
THE EARL OF ARUNDElAs MISSION TO VIENNA.
THE high language which Charles assumed at home was backed
by no demonstration of physical force. The equally high
March. language which he assumed to foreign nations was
jjfofvCfew. Dac ked by the most magnificent fleet, in point of
sum. s j ze an( j numbers, which had ever left our shores.
Its setting forth had been preceded by the publication of
uncompromising claims to pre-eminence put forward by the
most learned of English lawyers, himself one of the prime
movers of the opposition in the last Parliament. That argu-
ment, now appearing in print under the title of Mare dausum,
had been drawn up by Selden in the preceding reign at the
time when James was putting forward a claim to a tribute
from the Dutch fishing-boats. James, wiser than his son,
had refrained from pushing his demands in the face of the
irritation which they caused ; and the book had been left for
some years in the author's hands. It was now dragged to
light by Charles. Sent to the press in the autumn of 1635,'
it was issued to the world as a public manifesto in the following
spring. One copy was laid up by the King's orders in the
Court of Exchequer, another in the Court of Admiralty, whilst
a third was to be preserved for the perpetual use of the Privy
Council, ' as a faithful and strong evidence to the dominion of
the British seas.' 2
The book thus pompously announced would meet with
1 Joachimi to the States-General, Aug. , 1635, Add. MSS. 17,677
O, fol. 366.
2 Order in Council, March 26, Rush-worth, ii. 320.
1636 'SELDEN'S 1 MARE CLAUSUM! 155
nothing but scorn and derision at the present day. Its very
itsargu- premisses would be contemptuously set aside. Sel-
ment - den did not trouble himself to inquire whether the
authority which he claimed was in accordance with the well-
understood interests of England itself, to say nothing of the
interests of other nations. It was enough for him to flatter
the vanity of his countrymen by a long and elaborate compila-
tion of precedents exhibiting the rights claimed over the sea
by early English sovereigns. He did not stand alone in this
method of treatment. He lived in an age when power which
was almost absolute, as well as liberty which was almost re-
publican, was accustomed to justify itself by appealing to the
records of the past. The sense of the continuity thus evolved
was an important safeguard against rash and inconsiderate ex-
periments in politics. Yet it was possible to break even that
safeguard down, to clothe revolutionary aggression under the
form of reverence for ancestral wisdom, and to pursue a violent
and provocative policy under the appearance of adhering to
tradition.
Such was the course upon which Charles had now entered
at home and abroad. No doubt there was much that was
Charles's fascinating in the splendid position which he claimed
object. to hold am jd s t warring nations. As he kept the
peace on land, so would he keep the peace at sea. All through
the German Ocean, all through the English Channel, not a
shot should be fired in anger. Merchants should ply hither
and thither freely, unvexed by pirates, by blockading squadrons,
or by inquisitorial searchers for contraband goods. All those
belligerent rights which Charles had himself exercised so freely
and so offensively in the beginning of his reign were to be
interdicted to the navies of Spain and France and of the Dutch
Republic. He never thought of asking whether other powers
would willingly admit an authority so unlimited, any more than
he thought of asking whether his subjects would willingly admit
the authority which he claimed at home. It was for him to
lay down the law, and for others to follow. He alone was dis-
interested, just, and wise : all others were selfish, pugnacious,
and grasping.
156 ARUNDEUS MISSION TO VIENNA. CH. LXXX.
The fleet which was to maintain these exorbitant pretensions
had been entrusted to a new Admiral. This time it was sent
April 7 . out under the command of the young Earl of Nor-
Northum- f thumberland, the son of that Earl who had been a
be f la . nd , , prisoner in the Tower for so many years. A cour-
Admiral of . J J
the Fleet. teous and high-spirited young nobleman, who took
care to keep himself aloof from the factions of the Court, he
was on the best terms with everybody. He was himself in
friendly intercourse with Wentworth. His sister, Lady Carlisle,
in spite of waning years, was still the reigning beauty at White-
hall, and his brother. Henry Percy, had gained a strong influence
over the Queen by his light and amusing conversation. This
year there was little probability that the fleet would be used in
combination with Spain. Lindsey and his subordinates had
found occupation in convoying Spanish vessels to Dunkirk, and
had been rewarded by Necolalde for their trouble. 1 Lindsey's
Vice-Admiral, Sir William Monson, had been a Catholic.
Northumberland was now ordered not to admit any officer
who refused to take the oath of supremacy as well as the
oath of allegiance, 2 and Monson had therefore no place in the
new fleet.
The instructions given to Northumberland were almost
identical with those of the previous year. On May 20 he sailed
May 20. westward from the Downs. It was known that a large
Northum- French fleet had been gathering at Rochelle, that it
berland m
the Channel, had a. considerable number of troops on board, and
that it was provided with every appliance for landing on a hostile
coast. 3 As the belief prevailed in England that the expedition
was bound for Dunkirk, Northumberland was directed to watch
its motions. Northumberland, however, like Lindsey the year
before, was unable to meet with an enemy. At Calais, Bou-
logne, and Dieppe he found nothing stirring. He came across
a few Dunkirk privateers on the look-out for prizes, but his
heavy vessels were no match for them in sailing, and it proved
Secret payments to Necolalde, Simancas MSS. 2564.
2 Garrard to Wentworth, March 15, Strafford Letters, i. 523.
* French preparations at sea, March 30. Scudamore to Coke, May 6,
S. P. France.
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEAS. 157
impossible to bring them to account for their defiance of
Charles's sovereignty of the seas. An unlucky 1 )utch merchant
vessel, which had made a capture in the Helford river, was
seized and sent to Portsmouth with its prize. Off Portland, Nor-
thumberland gave chase to eight Dutch men-of-war. Whether
Charles was sovereign of the seas or not, he could not build
ships that would sail, and the Dutchmen were soon out of
sight When the fleet reached Ushant in the be-
ginning of June, news was brought to the Admiral
that the French had left Rochelle. Then came a false rumour
that they had passed up the Channel. Northumberland crowded
all sail in chase, and arrived in the Downs on the 24th to find
that the French fleet had steered for the Mediterranean. 1
If French men-of-war were not to be found in the Channel,
something might possibly be done with the Dutch herring-boats
j ul in the North Sea. The fishermen were accustomed
The Dutch to meet the shoals of herrings somewhere between
Shetland and Buchan Ness about the second week in
July, and to accompany them on their way southward as far as
the coast of Norfolk. 2 Northumberland now received orders
to seek out the Dutch boats, and to compel them to accept a
fishing licence from the King of England. A small payment
was to be made, in return for which the licensed vessel was to
receive a guarantee against the attacks of the Dunkirk pri-
vateers. Some two hundred of the boats, rather
than lose the benefit of the season, took the licences
and paid the money. 3 Others refused to compromise the
honour of their country, and it is not improbable that their
sense of the dignity of the Dutch Republic was reinforced by
a doubt whether the English fleet was able to secure them
against the attacks of the swift-sailing Dunkirkers. The
crews of those vessels which returned to Holland filled the air
with their outcries. The Dutch ambassador was instructed
1 Northumberland to the Lords of the Admiralty, May 23, 30, June 8,
22, 5". P. Dom. cccxxi. 87, cccxxii. 40, cccxxv. 78, cccxxxvii. 42.
* Northumberland to the Lords of the Admiralty, June 28, ibid.
cccxxvii. 93
s Northumberland to Windebank, Aug. 16, ibid, CCCXJLXV. 41.
158 ARUNDEL'S MISSION TO VIENNA. CH. LXXX.
to remonstrate sharply. Charles replied that if he chose to
insist on his rights he might chase their vessels from the sea.
It was his exceeding kindness to offer them protection. Sooner
than surrender his dominion over the sea, he would give up
England itself. 1
It would hardly be fair to say that the second ship-money
fleet had effected absolutely nothing. It is not improbable that
Small but for its existence the French Admiral would have
results. directed his course to the Channel, and not to the
Mediterranean. But at most it had done nothing positive
nothing that was likely to convince those who were not con-
vinced already that there had been any adequate reason for the
unwonted pressure which had been put upon the country in
order to send it forth.
In his warlike preparations Charles had aimed at petty
objects by means disproportionately great. In his diplomacy
he aimed at the greatest objects by means disproportionately
small. His fleet was too powerful to be employed to enforce
the lowering of a few flags or the payment of a few shillings
by the Dutch fishermen. It was not powerful enough to
enable him to regain the Palatinate.
When Arundel's instructions had been framed in April, he
was ordered to be content with nothing short of a direct
engagement from the Emperor to restore the terri-
Arundei'sin tory, and to enter into arrangements for the sub-
ons " sequent restoration of the title. Charles's offers in
return were couched in terms far less precise than his demands.
" In general," he wrote, " you must take heed not to engage
us by any confederation into an actual war, or to any breach
of peace or violation of our treaties with our neighbours and
allies ; yet, upon a full restitution of our nephew's dignities
and estates, we will be contented to join with the Emperor and
his House in a strict league for the common peace, and to that
end will interpose our mediation and credit with all the Princes
and States of our profession in religion within the Empire, to
1 Boswell to Windebank, Aug. 9, Beveren's memorial, Aug. 20.
Joachimi to the King, Aug. 25. Answer of the King's Commissioners,
Aug. 30, 5. P. Holland.
1636 CHARLES AND GERMANY. 159
persuade them to submit to the Emperor, and accept peace, to
be made upon such just and equal conditions as at the next
Assembly shall be agreed on for the honour of the Emperor
and good of the Empire. We will also induce our uncle the
King of Denmark to join with us in this work, and will treat
with the Swedes to accept reasonable contentment ; and will
labour effectually with our neighbours the States-General of
the United Provinces to make peace or truce with the King of
Spain and his brother the Infant Cardinal ; and with France
we will do the like ; and with the Italian Princes our friends,
as there shall be cause ; and if any of all these shall refuse
just and reasonable conditions and disturb the peace, we will
assist the Emperor and his House as far as without breach of
treaties we may be able, and to this end will maintain a
powerful fleet at sea, and will suffer our people to serve him
where we see cause ; and all this with the consequence may
very well deserve not a partial and ambiguous, but such a
total and absolute restitution as we desire, and without which
we shall be forced to join with some other party for the
advancement of this justice and public peace, which we are
unwilling to prosecute to the disadvantage of that House
which we and our progenitors have so much honoured and
esteemed." 1
No wonder Arundel had little mind to leave his stately
mansion, rich with antique statuary and gems of modern art,
Arundel sent u P on suc ^ an errand as this. 2 But Charles would
to Vienna, hear of no excuse, and the magnificent nobleman
who ' resorted sometimes to the Court, because there only was
a greater man than himself, and went thither the seldomer
because there was a greater man than himself,' was com-
pelled to go on a fool's errand across half a continent.
On his arrival he found that a new difficulty had arisen in
June. tne wa Y f his negotiation. The Elector of Bavaria
His arrival, had lately married his own niece, the daughter of the
Emperor, and it was now known that there was a prospect of a
1 Arundel's instructions, April i, S. P. Germany,
1 Panzani's despatch, ^ ar ^ 3 , R. 0. Transcripts.
160 ARUNDEL' S MISSION TO VIENNA. CH. LXXX.
child being born to him. If it should prove a boy, he would
be more loth than ever to sacrifice the acquisitions which he
had made, and would be certain to oppose every suggestion
that he should lessen the inheritance which he now hoped to
bequeath to his descendants. Even without this, Arundel's
terms were such as to cause irritation at Vienna. The alliance
which he had to offer was reduced by his instructions to the
merest shadow, whilst the terms which he was ordered to exact
were to be the strictest possible. Both Palatinates, together
with the Electoral dignity, were to be absolutely restored. The
utmost concession which Arundel was empowered to make was
the allowance of time for the fulfilment of part of these ccn-
ditions. To make such a proposal was to invite a rebuff.
Ferdinand replied that he was ready to fulfil the engagement
which he had given in February. He would give up a con-
siderable portion of the Lower Palatinate, and would take off
the ban. Arundel proudly answered that his master would
not be satisfied with less than all. Maximilian said that his
language sounded like a declaration of war, and scornfully
asked what possible advantage was to be gained from an
English alliance. An English fleet could not influence the
fortunes of a campaign in Alsace. As for English soldiers, he
had seen them under Vere and Hamilton, and he had no
cause to fear them much. Arundel was soon made aware that
he had nothing further to expect, and he hinted plainly in his
despatches that he wished for nothing better than a speedy
recall. !
To recall his ambassador would have been far too simple a
proceeding for Charles. As he had hoped to make the Emperor
July 20. more ready to fulfil his wishes by keeping up the
An.ndei semblance of a negotiation with France, so he now
ordered to
remain. hoped to make the King of France more ready to
fulfil his wishes by keeping up the semblance of a negotiation
with the Emperor. " It is not thought counsellable," wrote
1 Arundel to the Emperor, June 8. Arundel to Coke, June 13, 20,
22, S. P. Germany. The Elector of Bavaria to the Emperor, June ^
Khevenhiiller, Ann. Ferd. xii. 2107.
1636 THE SPANIARDS IN FRANCE. 161
Coke to Arundel in the King's name, "to make any open
breach which may be a disadvantage to any other treaty that
may be thought of for putting this business in any other way." '
A despatch was therefore sent off to the Earl of Leicester,
who was conducting Charles's diplomacy at Paris as extra-
Leicester ordinary ambassador. Louis had lately made fresh
e d otiate in overtures to Charles, pressing, as Ferdinand had
France. pressed in February, for a league offensive and de-
fensive in return for assistance in the recovery of the Palatinate.
Leicester was to try and get the aid of Louis on better terms.
He was to say that his master would allow the King of France
to levy volunteers in England, would abstain from carrying
men and money to the Spanish Netherlands, and would send
his fleet to the defence of the French coast. Even this very
moderate amount of assistance was not to be promised at once.
Leicester was to take care to engage the King of France be-
fore he engaged his master. Above all, he must clearly make
it understood that Charles had no intention of embarking on an
open war in alliance with France. 2
If ever there was a time when the French Government
was inclined to curse the hollowness of Charles's professions
of friendship it was now. The Cardinal Infant had
June 23.
France in- resolved to return the blow which had been struck
at the Netherlands the year before. On June 23
the Spanish army crossed the frontier into Picardy. One
fortified post after another fell into his hands. On July 22 he
j uly _ forced the passage of the Somme, and on August 5
August. he entered Corbie as a conqueror. The French troops
retreated behind the Oise, and the road to the heart of France
seemed to lie open to the invaders.
It was well known in France that this attack had been
July. assisted by English aid. The Count of Onate, the
mo*ey h con- son ^ t ^ ie a ^ e diplomatist who had long represented
F e n ye Hsh n Philip IV. at Vienna, had lately arrived as the am-
*">?=> bassador of Spain in England. The English vessel in
which he had taken his passage had on board a large sum of
1 Coke to Arundel, July 20, S. P. Germany.
" Leicester to Coke, July 9 ; Coke to Leicester, July 20, S. P. Frante.
VOL. VIII. M
162 ARUNDEUS MISSION TO VIENNA. CH. LXXJC
money destined for the payment of the Cardinal Infant's
army, and this money was conveyed across the Straits by an
order from Windebank, though the King intended it to be
stopped till two-thirds of it had been converted into bills of
exchange. The difference, slight in our eyes, was an impor-
tant difference then, and Charles sent Windebank for a short
time into confinement. The rumour was spread that both
Windebank and Cottington had been bribed by the Spanish
ambassador, and Charles for a moment credited the story. His
anger, however, soon cooled down, and neither the Secretary
nor the Chancellor of the Exchequer felt any serious conse-
quences of the mistake which they had committed. 1
Leicester's negotiation was not rendered more easy by the
evident leaning of Charles to Spain. He told his master that
in his opinion the terms he was instructed to offer
August. r
Leicester's were insufficient. Father Joseph, Richelieu's con-
fficuities. fidan ^ allowed the f ee i ings of the French Govern-
ment to be plainly seen. "We will perform all we promise,'
he said, " and more too, but we are not willing to be drawn
on further till your master resolve ; for perhaps all that you do
with us you make known to the Emperor, that he may see
what we have offered, and so judge us to be in great need of
your assistance, and that you may obtain better conditions of
the Emperor ; and then you will quit us." Leicester knew
how well-founded these suspicions were. " Therefore," was
his comment on Father Joseph's words, in writing home, " if
I can at all guess at them, they must be honestly and plainly
dealt with. They hold it unequal that they should be bound
to continue in a war by any that will not be engaged in it."
Charles could not deal honestly and plainly. Leicester
found it hard work to clothe his master's hesitating
The nego-
tiation con- utterances in diplomatic language. The French
tinued. . .
ministers had nothing to conceal. " We will not de-
ceive you," they said, " and therefore do not deceive yourselves.
1 Windebank to Juxon and Cottington, July 12. Windebank to the
King, Sept. 2, Clar. S. P. i. 588, 634. Correr to the Doge, ^~, Venice
MSS. Roe to Elizabeth, July 20, S. P. Dotn. cccxxix. ai.
1636 LEICESTER'S NEGOTIATION. 163
If the King your master will have such assistance as we have
offered for the recovery of his nephew's estates and dignities,
we expect that he join thus in league as we have proposed ;
for without that we declare unto you that we can do nothing.
If he will not do so, well ; we are content and continue friends
as we are, and leave unto the King the recovery aforesaid by
his own power, or how else he shall think good, but we believe
that without this he shall hardly be able to effect it." 1
Richelieu knew his man, and contented himself with
carrying on a negotiation which might serve to keep England
_ , aloof from a Spanish alliance. Articles of a treaty
September.
Articles dis- were accordingly drawn up and discussed. Charles,
however, insisted that all words binding himself should
be as vague as possible, and that all words binding the King
of France should be as strict as possible. For all practical
objects the negotiation at Paris had failed as hopelessly as the
negotiation at Vienna.
By the end of September Arundel's protracted stay at the
Emperor's Court had served its purpose, so far as it was pos-
sible for it to be of any avail at all, and on the 2yth orders
for his return were despatched. 2 Leicester remained at Paris,
weaving his Penelope's web of diplomacy without Penelope's
pleasure in the delay. He was one of those who would gladly
have seen the relations between England and France more
intimate than he was allowed to make them.
As the weeks passed on the position of the French
Government improved. All classes had cheerfully responded
to Richelieu's demand upon their patriotism. Ca-
Failure of r
the invasion tholics and Protestants had stood shoulder to
shoulder against the invaders. The Spanish onset
was arrested. Louis took the field in person to recover the
ground which had been lost by his commanders. On his
s march he was cheered by good news from Germany.
Battle of The Swedish General Baner had gained a victory at
Wittstock, and was pressing forwards into the heart
of Saxony. The allies of Prague had failed to dictate their
1 Leicester to Coke, Aug. 8, 16, 5". P. France.
2 Coke o Arundel, Sept. 7, S. P. Germany.
M 2
164 ARUNDEL'S MISSION TO VIENNA. CH. LXXX.
will to the Empire. Before the end of the year Corbie had
been regained, and the flag of Spain no longer waved over
any corner of French soil. The tide which had set steadily in
favour of Spain and the Empire since the day of Nordlingen
was stayed at length.
In the face of these events Charles was still wavering and
uncertain. He was still taking thought how he might recover
October, the Palatinate without striking a serious blow. He
pone^hi^ 05 '" st ^ believed it to be impossible that both France
decision. an d Spain should refuse his terms. To the urgent
entreaties of his courtiers who were crying out for war, he
replied that he must await the course of Leicester's nego-
tiations. He informed his sister that he would allow her son
a pension of i2,ooo/. a year, but that she must not expect
more for the present. Laud was instructed to convey to her
the disappointing intelligence. " To maintain a land army in
Germany," he wrote, "and pursue the cause that way, his
Majesty, upon most serious consideration of his estate finds
neither fit nor feasible for him at the present." Laud took
little interest in foreign politics. His own feelings were ex-
pressed to Wentworth. "In my judgment," he wrote, "the
Earl of Leicester writes more like a councillor of France than
an ambassador of England. . . . Well, so a war and the mis-
chief which must follow be kept off, I shall care the less." l
It would have been well for Charles if he could have kept
himself entirely clear of these foreign complications. Ex-
cepting so far as Dunkirk was concerned, no national English
interest was involved in the hostilities which were raging on
the Continent, and there was no longer such an issue before
the world in the German war as to call upon all nations to
take a side.
The point of view from which the modern student is
likely to regard the great struggle on the Continent is indeed
Strength of Vel 7 different from that which engaged the attention
toleration. o f t ^ e statesmen of Charles's reign. It mattered
little to the general progress of Europe whether France should
1 Laud to Elizabeth, Oct. 13 ; Laud to Wentwoith, Nov. 15, Dec. 5,
% vii. 289, 293. 300.
1636 PROGRESS OF TOLERATION. 165
extend her frontiers in the direction of Flanders or of Alsace,
or whether the Princes of Germany who had been excluded
from pardon by the Peace of Prague should be allowed to retain
their territories. It mattered, however, a good deal that the
principle of toleration should be strengthened, and it is un-
deniable that the course of events on the Continent had been
such as to favour its increased acceptance. Even the Em-
peror had acknowledged its power, as it was only by the
revocation of the Edict of Restitution that resistance to his
enemies had become possible, whilst the States-General owed
much of the renewal of their strength to the favour accorded to
the Arminians by Frederick Henry. In France the standard
of toleration was held the highest. Richelieu had succeeded
in beating back the invaders of his country because his eccle-
siastical policy was precisely the opposite of that which seemed
right in the eyes of Charles and Laud. The rulers of England
strove to enforce uniformity, in the hope of reaching the
strength of unity after a period, longer or shorter, of severe re-
pression. Richelieu sought strength by frankly acknowledging
the differences which existed, and by appealing to the common
patriotism of those who in religious belief stood apart at a far
wider distance than that which separated Laud from the most
fanatical Puritan in England.
Although the day would come when Richelieu's work would
be shattered by a bigoted king, it had been done
Example of .. . _ , . , , - , ,
French not for the French nation only, but for all nations
and for all time. The practical demonstration that
toleration did not bring forth national weakness would not be
thrown away.
It is not to be denied that the adoption of a system of
toleration would have been in some respects attended with
greater difficulties in England than it was in France. What
was granted in France was a local toleration for those who
lived in certain places. Nothing of the kind would meet the
requirements of England. Toleration there must be not local,
but universal. The men who reverenced the communion-table
as an altar, and the men who looked upon it as a mere table
to which no reverence was due, lived side by side in the same
166 ARUNDEL^S MISSION TO VIENNA. CH. LXXX.
street. Here and there a few enlightened spirits, or a few
sincere believers whose eyes had been opened by the persecu-
tion to which they had been exposed, might welcome the idea
of mutual toleration, and the time would one day come when
the light shining fitfully in the midst of darkness would kindle a
great fire to burn up the houses of oppression. It is not, how-
ever, by new and great ideas alone that the world is saved from
misery. They cannot do their work till the conditions of growth
are satisfied and the seed has found its appropriate soil.
The main condition of toleration was the absence of fear
lest toleration should be used as a means of attack upon those
Conditions w h granted it. The discovery that the dominant
of toleration. re iigi on j n France was in no danger from the assaults
of the Huguenots had made toleration possible there. Laud
had no such comforting assurance in England. As the leader
of a governing minority, he was beset with fear that his work
would crumble away the moment the strong hand of Govern-
ment was withdrawn from its support. All the more tolerant
maxims with which he had started l were stripped away from
him by the falseness of his position. In proportion as his
weakness grew more evident his intolerance increased. The
true word and thought could not proceed from one who was
occupying the ground on which he was standing. Not till a
Government arose whose ecclesiastical institutions rested on
the conviction of the nation, and which could therefore afford
to deal generously with the few who held divergent opinions,
would the doctrine of toleration take its place amongst the
accepted principles of English politics.
It is only necessary to glance at the events which were taking
place in New England to acquire a conviction that intolerance
Chances of was tne product of fear far more than of intellectual
New*" " ' n conv ' ct i n or theological hatred. It was fear which
England. made Laud sharp-sighted to spy out future danger to
England from the establishment of Puritanism in America, and
it was fear which made those very Puritans who had fled from
persecution at home ready to root out the elements of disorder
in their new abodes.
1 See Vol. VII. p. 124.
1636 NEW ENGLAND THREATENED. 167
Laud clearly perceived that the danger of spiritual contagion
could no 1 " be confined within any geographical limits. The few
, 6 . Hundreds of Puritans who had established themselves
April 28. j n Massachusetts might easily obtain an influence
Colonial _ '
commission, over these like-minded with themselves in England,
whilst the hope of finding a refuge beyond the Atlantic might
serve as an encouragement to the nonconformists at home. As
his manner was, Laud went to the root of the difficulty. In
April 1634, a commission, of which he was himself the head,
was appointed to take all English colonies under its control ;
' to make laws, orders, and constitutions ; ' to establish a clergy,
supported ' by tithes, oblations, and other profits ; ' to remove
the governors and other officers, to inflict punishment, to set up
ecclesiastical courts, and to call all charters in question before
a court of law, if they were found to contain privileges injurious
to the Crown or to the King's prerogative. 1
In the following December the Privy Council placed further
December, restrictions on emigration. No man of sufficient
Order for means to be rated on the subsidy books was to go to
limiting *
emigration. N ew England without a special licence from them-
selves, and no poorer person was to go without a certificate of
conformity from the minister of his parish. 2
In the following April the Council of New England, which
had for many years exercised a nominal authority over the
,635. settlements, surrendered its powers to the Crown, on
Thffcouncii the understanding that the lords and gentlemen of
Engfand whom it was composed should share amongst them-
surrenders se lves the whole of the territory lying between Vir-
us powers to
the Crown, ginia and the French colony on the St. Lawrence.
These lands they were to hold directly from the King. Before
the end of the year all legal difficulties were cleared from their
way. At the application of the Attorney-General, the Court
of King's Bench declared the Massachusetts charter to be null
and void. 3
1 The Commission in Hazard, i. 344, is a reissue after Juxon became
Treasurer.
- The Commissioners to the Warden of the Cinque Ports, Hazard, i. 347.
1 Palfrey, History of New England, i. 391.
J68 ARUNDEL'S MISSION TO VIENNA. CH. LXXX.
Sir Ferdinando Gorges was chosen as the first Governor
of the colony under this new arrangement. Yet even in the
1634. Privy Council voices had been raised against the
^America i m Ph c y of forcing the Church system of England
to the upon the Massachusetts settlers. l In Massachusetts
threatened . r
changes. itself the whole colony prepared for resistance. In
1634, with the first news of the danger, orders were given to
erect fortifications, and captains were appointed to train for
military service those who were unskilled in the use of arms. The
next year still more stringent measures were adopted.
Every resident was ordered to take an oath of
fidelity to the local Government, and a military commission was
intrusted with unlimited powers ' to do whatsoever might be
behoveful for the good of the plantation in case of any war that
might befall,' and even to imprison and confine any that they
should judge to be enemies to the commonwealth ; ' and such
as would not come under command or restraint, as they should
be required, it should be lawful for the Commissioners to put
such persons to death.'' 2
The assumption of independent authority by the colonists,
and their use of it to secure the exclusive maintenance of their
Assumption own creed, had caused indignation at home. The
den"t d ai?Thor- Council of New England, in surrendering its charter,
"y- complained that it was unable to control men who
had ' framed unto themselves both new laws and new conceipts
of matter of religion and forms of ecclesiastical and temporal
orders and government, punishing divers that would not approve
thereof, some by whipping, and others by burning their houses
over their heads, and some by banishing and the like ; 3 and
all this partly under other pretences, though indeed for no other
cause save only to make themselves absolutely masters of the
country and unconscionable in their new laws.'
Such was the view of the proceedings of the Massachusetts
settlers which prevailed in the English Court So far as it was
true, the strictness of the local government is to be excused
1 Joachimi to the States-General, March - z , Add. MSS. 17,677 O,
fol. loi.
1 Palfrey > i. 394. ' ' For the like ' in Hazard (i. 390).
1636 MASSACHUSETTS. 169
on the same ground as Laud!s greater severity in England,
obstacles to ^ either is to be excused at all. Fear, much more
toleration. tnan bigotry, was in both cases the parent of in-
tolerance. In the Dutch Netherlands, the victory of Calvinism
in 1618 had been so complete, and the political weakness of
the Arminians had been so amply demonstrated, that it had
recently become possible to allow the proscribed Arminian
teachers to return to their homes, and to gather around them
congregations which were never again likely to become dan-
gerous. In England it was as yet otherwise. Laud lived in con-
stant apprehension that if he relaxed his efforts for a moment,
Puritanism would arise as a flood to sweep away himself and
all that was dear to him. As it was in the Old England, so it
was in the New. The guardians who presided over the fortunes
of the settlement feared the disintegrating power of men who
would advocate Laud's principles amongst them more than they
feared all the military forces which he could send against them ;
as the watchman who sees with equanimity the dash of the surf
upon the dyke which he is appointed to maintain intact, will yet
shudder at the tiny rill of trickling drops which percolates
through its sides.
Every year the position of the Puritan colonists was growing
stronger. Large numbers had joined them in 1634. In 1635,
increase of m s P^ te * tne restrictions imposed by the Council,
the colony, three thousand persons added themselves to the
community. The Metropolitical Visitation was doing its work
for them. Their leaders might defy the English Government,
but they were sufficiently prudent to repress every action which
might imply personal disloyalty to the King. Endicott, the
founder of Puritan Salem, came to the conclusion
torn ouTof that the cross in the English flag was a symbol of
the flag. Popery, and tore it out from one which was flying
at Salem. Though the feeling which prompted the deed was
too widely spread to allow the magistrates to older the re-
placement of the flag, they directed that the royal standard
bearing the arms of England should be set up where it might
be seen by all vessels approaching the coast. 1 Almost at the
1 Palfrey, i. 420.
170 ARUNDEVS MISSION TO VIENNA. CH. LXXX.
same time they banished Roger Williams from the colony.
The young preacher, who combined the most scep-
Banishment , , . ... ,, . . .
of Roger tical and combative of intellects with the warmest
and most affectionate of hearts, had passed a life of
combat ever since he first landed in the settlement in 1631,
when he had startled all around him by announcing, amongst
other unusual opinions, ' that the magistrate might not punish
the breach of the Sabbath or any other offence as it was a
breach of the first table,' a view which may perhaps be con-
sidered as the germ of the doctrine of toleration of which
he was afterwards to become the consistent advocate. He
now gave offence in another way ; for he argued that the
King had no right to grant to his subjects lands which in reality
belonged to the Indians, and that the patent by which they
held the territory of Massachusetts was for that reason null and
void from the beginning ; whilst he had also argued that the
magistrates had no right to impose the oath by which they were
binding all residents to defend their homes. Williams wandered
away into the wilderness to found the settlement of Rhode
Island, the first Christian community, which was established
on the basis of the open and complete acknowledgment of
religious liberty. 1
The causes which were driving into exile thousands of men
unknown to fame, turned towards the New England settlements
Lord War- the thoughts of a class of men who had hitherto felt
te're^ilfthe little sympathy with the Separatists. The Earl of
colony. Warwick had been the President of the Council of
New England; but there had been some estrangement be-
tween him and the other members, and in 1632 he had either
resigned or had been expelled from his post. It is probable that
the quarrel arose from a difference of opinion relating to the
course which affairs were even then taking in the Massachusetts
colony. 2 Warwick was passing from the turbulence of earlier
years into the steady and resolved Puritanism of maturer life,
and into a feeling of confirmed opposition to the Court, the
flames of which had been fanned by the attack made in the
1 Palfrey, i. 406.
z As suggested by Mr. Palfrey, i. 399, note.
1636 CONNECTICUT. 171
Forest Court in 1634 upon the landowners of Essex. In 1632
, he had made over a grant which he held of lands in
mem of Connecticut to several persons, amongst whom were
Connecticut. r Tir-. ITIT-.I
two Puritan peers, Lord baye and Lord Brooke, the
latter the cousin and heir of Fulk Greville. It was not till
1 635 that they thought of making use of the lands which had
been conveyed to them. In that year they sent out a small
number of persons to the new settlement, but the bulk of the
inhabitants came from Massachusetts. 1 In one point alone the
new settlers differed from the old colony. Church membership
was not to form the qualification for citizenship. The extreme
tension of feeling which produced and maintained the strict
ecclesiasticism of Massachusetts gave way as soon as it ceased
to be fanned by opposition.
The Puritan noblemen had even thought of joining the tide
of emigration themselves ; but they had as little conception
l634> as Laud had of the real requirements of colonial life.
Fngiish When, in 1634, Lords Saye and Brooke, with others
noblemen ' ~ J '
propose to of their friends, proposed to transfer themselves to
Massachu- New England, they clearly expected that they were
to be the first in rank there, as they were at home.
They asked for the establishment in their own favour of an
hereditary peerage, from the ranks of which alone the Governor
They de- should hereafter be chosen. The members of this
creatio'n of a peerage were to bear the simple style of gentlemen,
peerage. < an ^ for the present the Right Honourable the Lord
Viscount Saye and Sele, the Lord Brooke, who had already
been at great disbursements for the public works in New Eng-
land, and such other gentlemen of approved sincerity and
worth as they, before their personal remove, shall take into
their number, should be admitted, for them and their heirs,
gentlemen of the country ; but for the future, none should be
admitted into this rank but by the consent of both Houses.'
A body of hereditary legislators with a veto upon the increase
of their own numbers was an idea which found as little favour
with the ecclesiastical democracy of Massachusetts as it would
have found with the ecclesiastical monarchy of Laud. The
1 Palfrey, i. 450.
r;2 ARUNDEL'S MISSION TO VIENNA. CH. LXXX.
settlers thanked the lords for their offer. The country, they
said, ' would thankfully accept it as a singular
it is re- favour from God and from them, if He should bow
their hearts to come into the wilderness and help
them.' "When," they added, "God blesseth any branch of
any noble or generous family with a spirit or gifts fit for govern-
ment, it would be a taking of God's name in vain to put such a
talent under a bushel, and a sin against the honour of magis-
tracy to neglect such in our public elections. But if God
should not delight to furnish some of their posterity with gifts
fit for magistracy, we should expose them rather to reproach
and prejudice, and the commonwealth with them, than exalt
them to honour, if we should call them forth, when God doth
not, to public authority." l
Nothing was said in the last sentence which the Massachu-
setts settlers had not already shown themselves prepared to
1635. carry out. In 1635 young Henry Vane, the son of
M^tachu- the Comptroller of the Household, landed at Boston,
setts. His desertion of his native country had been but
one instance of the repellent effect exercised by the atmo-
sphere of Charles's Court upon young and ardent minds. As
a boy of fifteen he had felt that influence of religious self-
devotion which so often breathes a spirit of earnestness into
the heart upon the threshold of manhood. In his
case the change was not evanescent. His opinions
were not affected by a residence at Oxford, where he was
1 Palfrey, i. 389, note. The following extract from a sermon preached
in 1642, God's waiting to be gracious, by Thomas Case, does not seem quite
to suit this attempt : " Preparations were made by some very considerable
personages for a Western voyage, the vessel provided, and the goods ready
to be carried aboard, when an unexpected and almost a miraculous provi-
dence diverted that design in the very nick of time." Is it possible that
Case referred to the alleged emigration of Hampden, Pym, and Cromwell ?
The story that they were to have gone is, indeed, too late in its origin to
have much value, and Mr. Forster (Life of Pym, 81) has shown that they
could not have been stopped in 1638. It does not, however, follow that
the tale is entirely without foundation, and the cause of stoppage may
have been the order of December, 1634, mentioned at p. 167. If there is
any truth in the story, 1634 is a more likely date than 1638, when the
clouds were beginning to lift.
1628 YOUNG HENRY VANE. 173
unable to matriculate in consequence of a refusal to take the
oaths of allegiance and supremacy. 1 It was perhaps to wean
him from these fancies that his father sent him to Vienna in
i6 t 1631 in the train of the ambassador Anstruther.*
vane at His Puritanism must have relaxed by this time, or
Anstruther must have been very confiding to the son
of a minister so high in Charles's favour. All the secrets of
the embassy were laid open to him, and in this way he, almost
alone of all men not within the circle of the King's interior
cabinet, became to some extent acquainted with the secret
league designed by Charles and the Spanish Government for
an attack upon the Dutch Republic. 3 When he came home
he was looked upon as in the fair way to the highest
honours. " His French," wrote Sir Toby Matthew
to the elder Vane, " is excellently good, his discourse discreet,
his fashion comely and fair, and I do venture to foretell that
he will grow a very fit man for any such honour as his father's
merits shall bespeak or the King's goodness impart to him." 4
But young Vane's secret must have been a heavy burden on
his mind, and may well have had its effect in alienating him
yet more from the Court. In 1633 his Puritanism took a
sharper form. The K ing himself interfered to save him from
that which he regarded as his folly. A conference with Laud
ended by leaving both parties in the mind in which they had
come, and at last Vane, in order to escape from domestic
i6 disquiet, announced his intention of emigrating. In
Vaneemi- October 1635 he arrived in Massachusetts. Young
as he was, he was but twenty-three, his opinion
was at once sought in matters of moment, and in
the following year he was elected Governor of the
settlement. 5
1 Wood, Atk. Ox. Hi. 578.
8 It is generally said erroneously, on Winthrop's authority, that he was
attached to his father's embassy.
3 His letters in French to his father from Vienna in the State Papers,
Germany, reveal this. Clarendon says he went to Geneva. I suspect he
Merely knew that he had been abroad somewhere.
4 Matthew to Vane, March 25, 1632, S. P. Dom. ccxix. 64.
* Winthrop's History, i. 203, 211.
174 ARUNDEL'S MISSION TO VIENNA. CH. LXXX.
It was a time of unexampled difficulty. Stern and unbend-
ing as the theology of the settlers appeared in the eyes of
Mrs. Anne ordinary Englishmen, there was a theology more stern
Hutchinson. an( j un bending still. Its advocate was Anne Hutch-
inson, who had landed in the colony with her husband in 1634.
She asserted that sanctification was no test of justification, and
that those alone were justified in whom the Holy Ghost dwelt.
Within the narrow limits of the Separatist churches, she drew a
limit yet more narrow, a limit undefinable by any outward or
moral test. There was, she said, a covenant of grace and a
covenant of works. By-and-by, provoked by the antagonism
raised by her assertions, she proceeded to assume the insight
which she denied to others. She pointed out the ministers who
favoured her as being under the covenant of grace, and declared
that the ministers who opposed her were under a covenant
of works. The wrath which these denunciations aroused was
great. Men who had been regarded with the highest respect
as pre-eminent for Christian graces, and for the fulfilment of
Christian duties, men who it may be had sacrificed their homes
and their friends in England for the sake of their faith, found
themselves pointed at with the finger of scorn as undeserving
of the very name of a Christian.
Mrs. Hutchinson was no mean antagonist. Her voluble
tongue, her readiness of argument and illustration, together
with her earnestness of purpose, soon procured her numerous
followers. She gathered large numbers of women for religious
discussion, and sent them forth to convert their husbands and
brothers.
The infant commonwealth was threatened with disruption.
At last the angry feeling came to a head. One Greensmith
1637. was fined for saying that only two, or at most three
Greenlnlith ^ tne mm i sters j w ere under the covenant of grace.
fined. Then came a sermon from Mrs. Hutchinson's brother,
Mr. Wheelwright, urging those who were on his side
wright's to prepare for a spiritual combat, in which they were
to be like the valiant men round Solomon's back
with theii swords in their hands, and to make themselves ready
for battle lest those under the covenant of works should prevail
1637 MRS. HUTCHINSON 175
against them. He treated the New England ministers, in
short, just as Leighton had treated the bishops in England
eight years before. For this sermon he was adjudged to be
guilty of sedition, though it was not immediately determined
what penalty should be imposed upon him.
In the discussions which had taken place Vane had sided
with Mrs. Hutchinson. His own mystical temperament at-
tracted him to her doctrines, whilst the absolute cha-
wiith Mrs. racter of his intellect led him to throw aside all those
son ' considerations for the danger of the commonwealth
which weighed deeply with most of the men who, like VVinthrop,
had long watched over its fortunes. He had conceived the
noble belief that religious intolerance was a crime, and he was
shocked to hear the imputation of heresy mingled with the
imputation of unruliness in the charges brought against Mrs.
May 17. Hutchinson by her adversaries. On May 17, 1637,
Vane re- when his year of office was at an end, Winthrop was
jected for J
Winthrop. chosen Governor in his place after the first contested
election in the New World. The first result of the new ad-
ministration was a law giving power to the magistrates to refuse
to admit into the settlement persons of whom they disapproved,
so as to anticipate the scheme which they attributed to Mrs.
Hutchinson, of flooding the colony with her partisans from
England. 1
A paper discussion ensued between Vane and Winthrop.
At once the controversy was lifted out of the regions of fierce
Discussion recrimination and angry polemics to the calmer
vk'nTand atmosphere of principle. Winthrop held that the
Winthrop. , commonwealth had a right to refuse admission to its
soil to persons who endangered its peace and even brought
into question its future existence. Vane, besides arguing that
the rules laid down in Massachusetts must be such as would
stand with the King's superior authority, took far higher
ground. Under the theological form which was natural to
his own mind and to the subject which he was handling, he
declared his conviction that no State had a right to suppress
1 Palfrey, i. 472. Winthrop's History, i. 239. Winihrop's Life of
Winthrop, ii. 175.
176 AKUNDEL'S MISSION TO VIENNA. CH. LXXX.
liberty of speech and thought. Winthrop had argued, he said,
that Wheelwright's opinions would not ' stand with external
peace ' but would ' cause divisions ' and would make the people
look at their magistrates, ministers, and brethren as enemies to
Christ. What then ? urged Vane ; had not Christ distinctly
said that he came not to send peace but a sword ? This is the
thought which runs all through Vane's argument. 1 Winthrop's
position was substantially the same as Laud's. With the wil-
derness to fall back upon, he could be content with banishment
instead of the pillory, but the principle which he advocated
was the same as that which was accepted by the English Star
Chamber. Vane cut boldly at its root. This peace, he said
in effect, which you aim at, this avoidance of strife, is the sign
of death. Life is a battle and a conflict, and you must submit
to its conditions if you are to win its prizes.
In thus anticipating the central doctrine of the Areopagitica,
Vane spoke a truth for all ages. It does not follow that his
ideal could be realised immediately. Gold, it is said.
Vane s
theory not may be bought too dear, and there may be sacrifices
ised It which are too great to make even for the sake of the
pearl of liberty. Those who possess the power to
tolerate diversities of opinion may fairly ask that the concession
made will not be used as a lever to overthrow by violence the
whole fabric of society. In Massachusetts it was impossible to
feel any such assurance. The elements of which the colony
was composed were exactly those most likely to be goaded
into fierce antagonism b'y theological discussion. There was
no population half-sceptical, half-careless, to keep the balance
between rival churchmen, or to trim the vessel front time to
time so as to restrain the hand of the persecutor. Above all,
as Winthrop knew well, dissension in Massachusetts would be
Laud's opportunity. Unless the settlement could continue to
show a united front to the mother country, its dangers would
be immeasurably increased. Winthrop felt that he was prac-
tically in the position of the commander of the garrison of a
besieged fortress. Many things allowable and praiseworthy in
1 Winthrop's declaration, with Vane's reply and Winthrop's rejoinder,
are in Hutchinson's Collation, 63.
1637 MARYLAND. 177
time of peace are neither allowable nor praiseworthy in time of
war. He felt towards Vane and his theories very much as
Cromwell felt towards them when he drove him out of the
House of Commons with the cry " The Lord deliver me from
Sir Harry Vane."
The day has come when it is possible to do justice to
Winthrop and Vane alike. For the moment there was no
place for Vane any longer in Massachusetts. After a
Vanes re- , . 11- T-,
turn to brief delay, he took ship to return to England. His
visit to the New World had ended in apparent failure ;
but the seed which he had sown had not been thrown away.
It would reappear in due season to bear fruit for the nourish-
ment of Europe and America.
Strangely enough, at the very time when the ideas of
toleration were put forth in vain in New England, another
i623 part of the American Continent was witnessing their
Baltimore's practical adoption. In 1623 Sir George Calvert,
settlement .. , , - _ . _ . .
in New- afterwards the first Lord Baltimore, had. whilst
founded. stm Secretary of State> rec eived a grant of New-
foundland. After his change of religion and his consequent
resignation of office, finding little scope for his energies in
England, he had devoted both time and means to the en-
couragement of the colony. The poverty of the soil and the
climate were against him, and after a long struggle with the
forces of nature, he determined to transfer his operations to a
i6a8 more southern land. A visit to Virginia in 1628
His visit to ended in the refusal of the settlers to allow him
irgmia. ^ Q ^gjj amon g s t them unless he would take the
oaths of supremacy and allegiance, and he thus became
convinced that it would be necessary for him to seek new
territory, if he was to find shelter for his co-religionists from
the English law.
The land which he chose was that to which Charles gave
the name of Maryland in honour of his Queen. The real
, 6 , 2 founder of the colony indeed did not live to witness
De\th of 5 ' the completion of the charter of Maryland ; but his
Daidmore. son , the second Lord Baltimore, succeeded to his
American projects as well as to his peerage.
VOL. VIII. N
i?8 ARUNDEL'S MISSION TO VIENNA. CH. LXXX.
The charter granted by Charles has an interest beyond its
bearing on the institutions of America. Copied word for word
from the earlier charter of Newfoundland, except
June 20.
Charter of where differences were absolutely required, it reveals
the ideal of monarchical government which was pro-
mulgated by James and adopted by his son, as clearly as the
ideal of aristocratic government entertained by the Puritan lords
is depicted in the overtures of Saye and Brooke to the settlers of
Clauses re- Massachusetts. Lord Baltimore, whose authority in
dvirfovem- Maryland was to be truly of a kingly nature, was to
ment. De th e proprietor of the colony, and this proprietor-
ship was to descend to his heirs. The government was to be a
constitutional one, as James and Charles understood the con-
stitution of England. New laws could only be made by Lord
Baltimore himself, ' with the advice, assent, and approbation of
the free men of the same province, or of the greater part of
them, or of the delegates and deputies.' It was the right of
counsel, not the right of control, which was conceded. The
free men and the deputies were not to make laws without the
consent of the proprietor. If sudden accidents happened, Lord
Baltimore might issue ordinances to have the force of law,
provided that they were consonant with reason and the laws of
England, and did not violate the right of any one ' in member,
life, freehold, goods, or chattels.' The appointment of judges
and magistrates was to rest with the proprietor, who was also
to exercise the functions of commander-in- chief.
The theory of government thus propounded was so difficult
to realise in England, and so impossible to realise in a new
colony, that, except for the light which this part of
Clause re- "
latin? to the charter throws upon the ideas which prevailed in
cai govern- the English Court, it would be unnecessary to refer
to it here. It is otherwise with the brief phrases
relating to the religion of the future settlement. Baltimore was
entrusted in Maryland, as he had been entrusted in Newfound-
land, with ' the patronage and advowsons of all churches which,
with the increasing worship and religion of Christ within the
said region, hereafter shall happen to be built ; together with
licence and faculty of erecting and founding churches, chapels,
1632 THE MARYLAND CHARTER. 179
and places of worship, in convenient and suitable places, within
the premises, and of causing the same to be dedicated and
consecrated according to the ecclesiastical laws of England.' l
The retention of the exact phrases used in the New-
foundland charter requires explanation. When inserted in
Explanation l ^ e g rant made in 1623 to a Secretary of State who
of the latter. was st jn a member of the English Church, they
would undoubtedly act as an establishment of that Church
in the colony, though it would be an establishment arising
rather from the goodwill of the authorities of the settlement
than from any words in the charter itself. The proprietor
was empowered to found churches, and to have them con-
secrated according to the laws of the Church of England, if
he chose to do so ; but there was nothing to compel him tc
do this unless he pleased, or to prevent him from founding
other Catholic or Nonconformist places of worship by the
side of the churches consecrated after the directions of the
charter.
It is impossible to suppose that words so vague in their
meaning were re-inserted in the Maryland charter without due
Probable deliberation. It was notorious in 1632 that both the
h,g d b?tween first Lord Baltimore and his son were Catholics, and
fnd t the >re tnat l ^ e y intended to establish in Maryland a place
Kin g- of refuge for English Catholics who wished to escape
from the penal laws. May it not therefore be taken for granted
that the phrases of the charter were intended to cover a secret
understanding between Baltimore and the King? Charles
could not, with any regard for the necessities of his position,
make mention of his purposed toleration of the Papal Church
in Maryland. Neither could he, if he meant to favour Balti-
more's object, insert words in the charter compelling the sole
establishment of the English Church. The clause as it stood
would look like a provision for the maintenance of English
Church forms without being anything of the kind, and the
success with which this object was achieved may be judged
1 Bozman's Hist, of Maryland, ii. I. The Charters may be compaied
on the Patent Rolls, 21 James I. Part 19 ; 8 Charles I. Part 3,
N 2
i8o ARUNDEUS MISSION TO VIENNA. CH. LXXX.
from the fact that even in our own day an American writer has
thought himself justified in so interpreting it. 1
What was the exact nature of Charles's understanding with
Baltimore cannot now be ascertained. But, judging from what
followed, it is probable that there was an engagement on the
part of the proprietor that if the English Government threw no
obstacles in the way of the development of his own Church in
Maryland, he would allow no interference with such of the
colonists who were and chose to remain Protestants.
The colonists, in fact, who sailed in November 1633, number-
, 633 . ing between two and three hundred, were a mingled
K>nUt C sa body of both religions, though the few gentlemen who
mixed body. {QQ^ p art m the enterprise were almost, if not quite
all, Catholics. Baltimore did not himself leave England, but
,634. he deputed his brother, Leonard Calvert, a Catholic
March 27. jj^g hj mse if to act as Governor in his name. The
i hey land
in Maryland, settlers landed in Maryland on March 27 of the
following year.
Three years later a struggle began for political rights. The
colonists firmly resisted the claim of the proprietor to dictate
,637-9. their laws, and they made good their opposition
poiitfc g a'f f r w ' tn Itol 6 difficulty. From the beginning there had
rights. been no thought of hostility between Protestants and
secured'?" Catholics, and whatever germs of discord may have
Maryland. ] a j n hj(j were stifled in the harmony arising from joint
resistance to the same political adversary. In 1639 Lord Balti-
more gave way, and permitted an assembly to frame its own laws.
Its first act was to acknowledge distinctly the position of the
Church of Rome. " Holy Church within this province," it was
declared, " shall have all her rights and liberties." At the same
1 In the Contemporary Review for Sept. 1876, Mr. Neill, in criticising
various statements about the colonisation of Maryland, argues that the
charter, ' while recognising Christianity in general terms, confined its
development within the Church of England.' I believe the interpretation
given above is more correct, and I am quite sure that Mr. Neill is wrong
in saying that the 'Holy Church,' which, according to the statute of
1639, was to ' have all her rights and liberties,' was ' that of the charter, the
Church of England.' Such a phrase was never, to my knowledge, applied
to the Church of England, after the Reformation.
1639 TOLERATION JN MARYLAND. 181
time another Act was passed, to secure all free Christian inhabi-
tants in the enjoyment of ' all such rights, liberties, immunities,
privileges, and free customs, as any natural-born subject of
England hath or ought to have or enjoy in the realm of Eng-
land, saving in such cases as the same are or may be altered or
changed by the laws and ordinances of this province ; ' and this
Act secured what had never been questioned in Maryland, com-
plete liberty of Protestant worship. 1
It was thus that, while Roger Williams and Vane preached
to deaf ears in Massachusetts, the force of circumstances brought
the followers of opposing creeds in Maryland, in their inter-
course with one another, to give prominence to the points in
which they agreed rather than to those in which they differed.
In Maryland the Protestants, slack in zeal and dependent for
organisation upon their Catholic leaders, in all probability never
thought for an instant of erecting a dominant Church, whilst the
Catholics, planted in the midst of zealous Protestant settlements
on either side, and depending for support on the goodwill of
the King, could not venture, even if they had wished it, to
oppress their Protestant fellow-colonists.
The story of Maryland was to some extent an anticipation
of the future story of England. In England there was to be a
struggle for political rights, which was to lead to the
Comparison
between acceptance of the doctrine of religious toleration for
Maryland ....
and Eng- those who stood together in resisting oppression.
That struggle indeed was to be far harder and far
longer than the one in the clearings of the woods by the side of
the Chesapeake. Yet this compensation, at least, was given to
the horrors of the strife, that the demand for toleration clothed
itself in fitting words, and that the voices of Milton and Vane
and Cromwell lifted up a standard round which the thought of
the world might rally, and which would make the acquisition
of religious liberty not a fortuitous occurrence leaving no lesson
behind it, but the victory of a truth for all times and all nations.
1 Bosnian, ii. 107.
1*2
CHAPTER LXXXI.
THE COURT-MARTIAL ON LORD MOUNTNORRIS.
THE doctrine announced in June 1636 by Berkeley from the
Bench, 1 and in July by Coke at Oxford, 2 was nothing less than
l63 6. the full-blown theory of absolutism. Sooner or later
The" ne f t ^ ie question whether the supreme power was lodged
Charles's j n ^ e King alone, or in the King acting in con-
govern-
ment. currence with his Parliament, was sure to be merged
in the larger question whether the King could permanently
exercise authority in defiance of the nation. That further
question was now distinctly put. Of the claim to Divine right
which fills so large a space in the minds of modern historians,
which was first put forward by Imperialist and Royalist oppo-
nents of the Papacy, and which even in Charles's reign formed
the staple of many a village sermon, little was said by the
King's leading supporters in Church or State. Such men con-
tented themselves with disengaging from the storehouse of
older constitutional principles the theory that the King was
vested with the power of finally deciding what was for the
interest of the nation. It was not by inventing anything new,
but by thrusting out of sight those considerations by which this
theory had been balanced, that an arbitrary and despotic
Government was erected in England.
Ostensibly, at least, Charles's government was a legal one.
He was ready at any time to submit his pretensions to the
its ostensible J uci g es > though he had taken good care that no
legality. judge likely to dispute his will should have a seat on
the Bench. The Petition of Right was still acknowledged to
1 See page 103. * See page 147.
1636 WENTWORTH AND THE COURT. 183
be in force. It was, however, of little avail to a prisoner to be
able to compel his gaoler to present him before the King's
Bench with a written signification of the cause of his com-
mittal, if the judges of that court were certain to refuse to
give him relief, and if the mere fact of his having appealed to
them in vain was equally certain to bring upon him a heavy
sentence in the Star Chamber, should ill fortune bring him there.
The most important clause in the Petition, therefore, had
become a dead letter, not because the judges had openly
refused to take it into consideration, but because no prisoner
since Eliot had thought fit to avail himself of its provisions.
The clause relating to taxation was disposed of in the same
way. It was treated with all possible respect. The King took
good care not to levy taxes or loans or benevolences. But he
took the money he wanted for all that. Neither tonnage and
poundage, nor composition for knighthood, nor ship-money
was named in the Petition ; and the next time that more
money was required, Charles's lawyers would take good care
to make the demand in some form which would put them,
verbally at least, in the right.
No abler or more resolute advocate of this system could be
found than Wentworth. Yet, so far as we know, he had not
.. l6 35- been consulted on English affairs since his arrival in
Wentworth s
support of it. Dublin. His vigorous government in Ireland, and
especially his proceedings in Connaught, had been stamped
Sept. 3 o. with Charles's approbation. Although not a single
Wentworth's person at Court seems to have found fault with
proposed
plantation, his treatment of the landowners of Connaught on
the ground on which it was most assailable namely, its in-
justice to the Irish population the Court swarmed with men
ready to take up the interests of any great nobleman or great
official who felt himself aggrieved. The Earls of Pembroke
and Salisbury had done their best to save Lord Cork from the
Attacks penalty of his misappropriation of Church lands,
upon him. Others were ready to plead for Lord Wilmot, a
veteran who had been called to account by the Deputy for
taking Crown property to his own use. Lord Clanricarde, or
St. Albans, as he was called in the English peerage, and his
1 84 COURT-MARTIAL ON MOUNTNORRIS. CH. i.xxxi.
son, Lord Tunbridge, were themselves in England to re-
monstrate against the wrong done to them in Galway. Laud
warned his friend of the risk he was running. " I find," he
wrote, " that notwithstanding all your great services
Laud warns in Ireland, which are most graciously accepted by the
King, you want not them which whisper, and perhaps
speak louder where they think they may, against your pro-
ceedings in Ireland as being over full of personal prosecutions
against men of quality, and they stick not to instance St.
Albans, the Lord Wilmot, and the Earl of Cork ; } and this is
somewhat loudly spoken by some on the Queen's side. And,
although I know a great part of this proceeds from your wise
and noble proceedings against the Romish party in that
kingdom, yet that shall never be made the cause in public, but
advantages taken, such as they can, from these and the like
particulars, to blast you and your honour if they are able to do
it. I know you have a great deal more resolution in you than
to decline any service due to the King, State, or Church for
the barking of discontented persons, and God forbid but you
should ; and yet, my Lord, if you could find a way to do all
these great services and decline these storms, I think it would
be excellent well thought on." 2
Better advice it was impossible to give, but it was not
advice which Wentworth was likely to take. It was his man-
December, ner to look straight at his aim, and to care little for
HersanT ^ f eenn g s ne wounded in attaining it. Least of all
Wentworth. W as he likely to care for the wretched combination
of interested intriguers which gathered round the Queen.
Cottington might find it useful to advocate the claims of the
Roman Catholics. Holland might find it useful to advocate
the claims of the Puritans. Wentworth passed on his way
without heeding. His chief regret was that he could never
feel quite sure of support from the King. He had adjured
Charles not to squander the grant of the Irish people on his
English courtiers. Early in December he learned that Lord
Nithsdale was to have io,ooo/. paid him out of the subsidies of
1 ' This Earl ' in the original. I have altered it to make it intelligible.
2 Laud to Wentworth. Nov. 16, Strafford Letters i. 479.
1 635 CONDUCT OF MOUNTNORRIS. 185
Ireland. All that his remonstrances gained was that Charles
promised that he would not so offend again.
Wentworth pushed on, heedless of friend or foe- Clan-
ricirda died in November, and a rumour at once spread that
he owed his death to Wentworth's malice. Went-
November.
Death of worth felt the insult bitterly, but the only notice he
cianncarde. e King to take into his
own hands the authority which the late Earl had exercised in
Galway. 1
It was not long before the courtiers had a fresh charge to
bring against Wentworth. Amongst the officials whom the
Wentworth I j r d Deputy regarded with suspicion and distrust
and Mount- was L O rd Mountnorris, who, as Sir Francis Anneslev,
nurris. J '
had been one of Falkland's opponents. As Vice-
Treasurer of Ireland, the whole of the accounts of the kingdom
passed through his hands. In such an office Wentworth
looked for scrupulous probity and decorum. He complained
that Mountnorris was a gay and reckless liver, fond of play,
and suspected of accepting bribes in the execution of his
office. As early as in the spring of 1634 he charged him with
taking percentages to which he was not entitled, and obtained
1634. an order from the English Privy Council to stop thf.
May. practice. Mountnorris treated the order with con-
October. r
December, tempt. In that winter session of Parliament which
caused Wentworth so much trouble, he assumed the airs of a
leader. From that moment it was evident that Wentworth, who
well remembered how Mountnorris had headed the attack on
the last Lord Deputy, would not rest till he had found the
means of ridding himself of so insubordinate an official.
A fresh act of petty malversation was discovered in the
spring of 1635. Mountnorris was in possession of a fee of
1635 . 2o/. a year as the auditor of accounts which had no
March. existence. It was whispered, too, that either he or
his servants had refused payment upon the Deputy's warrant,
April, till a bribe had been received from the person to
whom it was payable.
1 Wentworth to the King, Dec. 5, Strafford Letters , i. 491.
irf6 COURT-MARTIAL ON MOUNTNORRIS. CH. LXXXI.
For some time Mountnorris had been talking of resigning
his place, and had even asked Wentworth to arrange the terms
on which he was to receive compensation from his
Mountnorris . .
talks of re- successor. At the beginning of April he had broken
off all treaty with the Deputy, and had announced
that he would leave his case in the hands of the King. 1
From that moment secret dislike was exchanged for open
defiance. One day a brother of Mountnorris, who was a lieu-
Annesie * tenant in a troop of horse, was reproved by Went-
insubordina- worth for disorderly conduct at a review. Young
Annesley replied to the Deputy's reprimand by an
insulting gesture. Wentworth's quick eye caught the act of
insubordination. He brought down his cane gently on the
lieutenant's shoulder, and told him that if he repeated the
offence he would ' lay him over the pate.'
Not long afterwards a fresh scene occurred. Another
A stoo i Annesley, a kinsman of Mountnorris, dropped a
wemwonh's st o1 on the Deputy's gouty foot. Then came a
foot. dinner at the Lord Chancellor's, at which Mount-
norris was present. The story of the dropping of the stool
\ P rii 8. was mentioned. " Perhaps," said Mountnorris, " it
at^he'tord was done in revenge of that public affront that the
chancellor's. Lord Deputy had done me formerly. But I have a
brother who would not take such a revenge."
Wentworth appealed to the King. He received in return
two letters, the one authorising him to order an inquiry into
Mountnorris's malversations in office, the other in-
Wentworth structing him to bring him before a court-martial for
proceed*" 1 1 the words spoken at the dinner. Both these letters
ikfount- were dated July 31. For some unexplained reason
non-is. no action was taken on them for four months, and
it is possible that Wentworth was still hoping for Mountnorris's
resignation to cut the knot. In the end of November Mount-
norris was summoned to give an account of his official conduct
before a committee of the Council. The Deputy had a further
1 Wentworth to Coke, May 13, Oct. 6, Dec. 16, 1634, March 25,
April 7, 1635 ; the King to Wentworth, July 31, 1635, Strafford Letters^
I 244, 304, 345, 391, 400, 448.
1635 WENTWORTITS CHARGE. 187
rod in store for him. 1 If he was Vice-Treasurer of Ireland, he
was also an officer in the army, and on December 1 2
Dec. 12. "
'i he court- he was summoned to a Council of War in the Castle.
On his arrival he found that no one knew what the
business of the day was to be. He took the seat assigned him
by his rank, near the head of the table. At last the Deputy
arrived, and informed the Council that they were called to sit
as a court-martial on Mountnorris. The language used at the
Lord Chancellor's dinner had broken two of the laws of war
by which the army was governed. By one of these it was
ordered that no man should ' give any disgraceful words, or
commit any act to the disgrace of any person in his army or
garrison, or any part thereof, upon pain of imprisonment, public
disarming, and banishment from the army.' The other ordained
that no one should ' offer any violence, or contemptuously dis-
obey his commander, or do any act or speak any words which
are like to breed any mutiny in the army or garrison, or im-
peach the obeying of the General or principal officer's direc-
tions, upon pain of death.' On these two grounds Wentworth
' Writing on Jan. 2, 1636 (Works, vii. 216) Laud says that "William
Raylton," Wentworth's agent, "caire to me and told me that the business
of the farms were stirred again, and that the Lord Mountnorris had a hand
in it. I found the King very reserved, yet thus much I discovered, that
certainly the Lord Mountnorris had made some offer about it. And I hear
from a good hand since I spake with the King, that whereas the King hath
now but 8,ooo/. per annum, he shall then have 2O,ooo/. What truth is in
this I know not. But I am most confident that if the King may gain
I2,ooo/. a year, you will be very well advised before you will stand so much
in his light, having so many eyes upon both your actions and your ends."
Later in the same letter, referring to the Court-martial, Laud says, " I
pray God this be not interpreted as done by you in revenge for the farms."
Writing in answer on March 9 (Strafford Letters, i. 517), Wentworth says,
" If any should impute this to be done in revenge of Mountnorris his
stirring concerning the farms, my answer is full and direct, it was moved
long before he offered anything in this business : so as in truth the ques-
tioning of him was the mere impulsive cause to strain him to that course,
thereby, if it might have been, to save himself, which I daresay he would
otherwise have been as far off as anything in the world." But it does not
follow that Wentworth's specially angry feeling in December was not due
to the business of the farms.
188 COURT-MARTIAL ON MOUNTNORRIS. CH. LXXXl.
demanded sentence against Mountnorris. He had been himself
publicly affronted by Mountnorris's description of the scene
which followed on Annesley's insubordination, whilst the words
relating to the brother who would not take such a revenge
were to be regarded as an incitement to that brother to take a
revenge of a more violent kind than the dropping of a stool.
In vain Mountnorris, stupified by the unexpected blow,
denied that the words had been correctly reported, and begged
The sen- tnat counsel might be allowed to assist him in his
tence. defence. Witnesses were produced to prove that the
words were his, and he was told that it was not the custom of
a court-martial to allow the prisoner the benefit of an advocate.
As soon as he was withdrawn, Wentworth demanded sentence
in respect of the articles he had cited. It is true that he took
no part in the deliberations of the court, and that he remained
seated in his place bareheaded, as became a suitor for justice.
But he could not divest himself of the commanding aspect
which seldom failed to secure obedience, of the knit brow and
flashing eye which announced him as a ruler of men. It is no
wonder that his enemies spoke of that court as overawed by
his presence. Yet it is hardly probable that if Wentworth had
left the room the court would have decided otherwise than it did.
Its business was to decide according to the strict letter of the
law, and it was undeniable that against the letter of the law an
offence had been committed.
After a short deliberation Mountnorris was recalled. Sen-
tence of death was formally pronounced upon him. Then
Sentence. Wentworth addressed him. He might, he said, order
pronounced. out ^ p rovost Marshal at once to execute the
judgment of the court. But, as far as life was concerned, he
would supplicate his Majesty. " I would rather lose my hand,"
he added, " than you should lose your head." '
1 Wentworth to Coke, Dec. 14. Wentworth on the Council of War
to Coke, Dec. 15, Strafford Lettttrs, i. 497, 498. Cromwell to Conway,
Dec. 17, S. P. Ireland. Rushworth, Trial of Strafford, 186. Mount-
norris must have known perfectly well from these last words that his life
would be spared, and all representation of his agonising expectation of
death whilst in prison is therefore pure rhetoric.
1635 WENTWORTWS OBJECT. 189
It is one thing to justify the conduct of the court-martial :
it is another thing to justify the conduct of Wentworth. The
Reflections extreme powers entrusted to a commander by martial
on . j aw are manifestly intended only to be put in force
when necessity requires. The very code under which Went-
worth acted bore words limiting its employment to cases of
necessity. In the case of Mountnorris it is evident that at the
time when the trial was instituted no such necessity existed.
In April there was undoubtedly some slight danger. In the
excited state of mind in which Mountnorris and his kinsmen
were, it was not altogether impossible that some violent act
might have been attempted. Since that time seven months
had passed away. The rash words had been followed by no
acts of any kind. There was no such danger as that against
which the Articles of War were intended to guard. Wentworth
was guilty of applying to the destruction of a political opponent
the mere technical letter of the law.
It is happily unnecessary to argue that this was the true
explanation of the case. We have it upon Wentworth's own
confession. More than two years later he acknowledged to
Mountnorris himself that all he had wanted was to get rid of
him. 1
So thought Wentworth in cold blood. It is hardly likely
that he thought so at the time. AVith his heart filled with scorn
Wentworth's f the man wno had ventured, without character or
accounted talents, to pose himself as his rival, every angry
his conduct. wo rd which Mountnorris had spoken, every corrupt
or thoughtless deed which Mountnorris had done, probably
branded itself upon his mind, not merely as an insult to him-
self, but as evidence of insubordination to the King and treason
to the State. Most likely, indeed, when the court was sitting,
1 " At my Lord Mountnorris's departure hence he seemed wondrously
h imbled, as much as Chaucer's friar, that would not for him anything
should be dead, so I told him I never wished ill to his estate nor person,
further than to remove him thence, where he was as well a trouble as an
offence unto me ; that being done (howbeii, through his own fault, with
more prejudice to him than I intended) I could wish there were no more
debate betwixt us." Wentworth to Conway, Jan. 6, 1638, Strajford
Letters t ii. 144. See too the note to p. 187.
190 COURT-MARTIAL ON MOUNTNORRIS. CH. LXXXi.
the idea that the cnarge brougnt against Mountnorris had been
affected by lapse of time never presented itself to his mind.
To his fierce offended spirit all time was present, and April was
as December.
The letter in which Wentworth announced the sentence to
his friend Conway. the son of the late Secretary, was plainly
Dec. 23. written in the full belief that Mountnorris was the
Wentworth's aggressor. " In my own secret counsels," he wrote of
immediate *
defence. his assailant, "I could to myself never discover those
rough hands of Esau they so grievously and loudly lay to my
charge ; for I dare say that in all the actions of this nature
which ever befell me, I shall be found still on the defensive
part ; and if, because I am necessitated to preserve myself
from contempt and scorn, and to keep and retain with me a
capacity to serve his Majesty with that honour becoming the
dignity of that place I here by his Majesty's favour exercise,
therefore I must be taken to be such a rigid Cato the Censor
as should render me almost inhospitable to humankind ; yet
shall not that persuade me to suffer myself to be trodden upon
by men indeed of that savage and insolent nature they would
have me believed to be, or to deny myself and my own sub-
sistence so natural a motion as is the defence of a man's self." '
It was not in Wentworth's nature to offer a public defence
of his conduct. To his intimate friends he was less reserved.
ig 6 A few weeks brought him tidings that the English
Feb. i 4 . Court was up in arms against him. What he had
VVentworlh's 11-, /- i
letter to ' already written to Conway, he now wrote more ex-
plicitly and defiantly to Captain Price. " Were it
not," he complained, " that such hath ever been my fortune in
the whole course of my life to have things imputed unto me as
, crimes whereof I was not at all guilty, it would have
Complains of
being ac- been unto me the strangest in the world to hear my-
cianrickard's self so bloodily traduced as to be made the author of
my Lord St. Albans' ' 2 death. But it is the property
of malice to draw other men as ugly as itself, and albeit it love
not the person, yet doth it desire he should be like itself,
1 Wentworth to Conway, Dec. 23, Strafford Letters, i. 502.
1 Wentwortk here gives Clanrickard's English title.
1636 WENTWORTH'S DEFENCE. 191
but su .h loose draughts as these will be but admitted to hang
in some obscure corner for the meaner sort of people to feed
upon, will never dare to abide long nearer the light where noble
and skilful eyes will quickly find out their falsehood and impos-
ture, not to be originals drawn after the life, but base copies
slubbered over only for sale, without either truth or beauty, but
barely as pleased the painter to devise them.
" Now as that death was charged unto me as chance-medley
at least, so I may imagine the sentence of the Council of War
EX lains upon Mountnorris will be found against me as wilful
his conduct murder. Sure the billows will go high in this case,
to Mount-
norris. without one drop of good will to either his lordship
or me ; for a disaffection to me, not any affection to him, is
sufficient to move some to proceed to sentence and fault me for
him, nay, I fear, to condemn me too before ever I be heard ;
and then how is it possible for me to prevent it ? For they have
given judgment already upon me, and how then will it acquit
me to show they have taken the mark amiss, that I had no part
at all in the sentence, that it was done by all the prime officers
of that army, assisted by at least fourteen captains, privy coun-
cillors, and others.
" Alas ! " continued Wentworth, after recounting the pro-
ceedings of the court, "all this comes too late. Halifax law '
, hath been executed in kind, I am already hanged,
Complains of . . *
being tra- and now we come to examine and consider of the
evidence ; wherefore I will lay by me this truth
which fully satisfieth myself, and betake myself to justify the
justice, reason, and necessity of that decree ; howbeit I confess
I can add nothing to the weight it carries in itself,
Argues that
discipline yet I must needs say that if men, soldiers or officers,
must be 1-1 i i
maintained, may assume a. liberty to traduce their general, to
endeavour to effect him cheap and vile in the sight of those
he is to govern ; and all this gratis, without control ; how is it
possible to govern an army, nay, so much as a company? If
therefore discipline be necessary to contain licentious and
encourage modest spirits ; that, if any are to be subject to this
1 To be hanged first and tried afterwards, like Lydford law in Devcu-
thire.
IQ2 COURT-MARTIAL ON MOUNTNORRIS. CH. LXXXI.
discipline, then most properly those that are officers and mem-
bers of an army are to subject themselves unto it ; if any orders
or rules of an army to be without exception, then those most
convincing that are not made upon the present occasion to
serve a turn, but such as have been published and known
long beforehand, nay the very same individually this army hath
ever been governed under before I was born ; and finally, if
any judgment and execution thereon to be admitted to be in
kind, when so much as when the army is in march, the troops
in motion ? And will any mind do such a violence to its own
candour and ingenuity as to deny that all or any of these do
not occur in the case of this gallant fellow?"
No doubt it would have been hopeless to attempt to con-
vince Wentworth that if he had not manufactured new laws
' to serve a turn,' he had given them an application which they
had never been intended to have. Against a charge of a
different description he was far more successful. " But," he
wrote, " I hear it is mightily objected that he is a Peer, and a
capital insolence to pass a sentence of death on him that is
only triable in these exigents by his peers. 'Tis true, to taint
Re lies to ^ m m ^ OO( ^> to forfeit his estate, that compli-
the argument ment the law requires : but if any man can show me
that Mount- . ...
norris was that privilege ever insisted upon, or at least allowed,
his peerage, to any listed as a soldier under the command of his
General, they say well ; else all may be admitted,
and the sentence stand firm nevertheless ; and to speak truth,
if Peers insist upon such privileges as subsist not with the
government of an arrnv, where the remedies as the mischiefs
are sudden, and requne an instant expedient, 1 they must
resolve not to bear arms rather than whole armies be put in
hazard by legal, and to them impossible, forms to be observed.
" Then they allege the sentence to be too sharp : that's
nothing against the justice of it ; but when the execution is
stayed, where is the sharpness? I think no man held his
1 The best comment on this is in the words of the Man-gers of the
Commons : " The words are pretended to be spoken in April, my Lord
of Stratford procures the King's letter in July, and questions it not till
December; here is no opus esf." Rushworth, Trial of Strafford, 202.
1636 WEXTWORTWS DEFENCE. . 193
life to be in danger. For myself, were I put to the choice
that he must lose his life, or I my hand, this should
Argues that ' . 7
the sentence redeem that ; and howbeit it was never in any man s
ixfcarrfed heart to hurt the least nail of his finger, the example
and terror of it to move men to descend into them-
selves and to avoid such outrages in the future, was by so much
the more allowable, nay indeed, commendable and necessary.
"Thus have I given you my judgment upon the whole
matter as an indifferent man, as little concerned as any of the
Comments speculativi themselves, and as little to answer for the
w"ho h are' sentence as they, but let them philosophy and censure
dissatisfied, other men wiser, and it may be better knowing than
these flesh flies that lie buzzing and blowing upon men of virtue
to taint their credits and honours, and render them, if they
could, as contemptible, as mean as themselves ; I say the
sentence given by the council of war upon Mountnorris was, in
my poor opinion, just and necessary, his fault, and the persons
whom it concerned, equally and rightly considered. For the rest,
if you be in any point unsatisfied, look upon the sentence, which
my agent can show you, and that will abundantly satisfy you." '
Some at least there were who were not satisfied. " Tis held
by many," wrote one of Wentworth's correspondents, " a severe
sentence. They say, if he had meant any ill, or that
main\Us. ill should have come thereof, he would have whis-
pered those words in corners amongst swordsmen,
not been so great a fool to utter them at the Lord Chan-
cellor's table, a great officer and councillor of the kingdom.
They wonder that the Viscount Moore should be a witness and
a judge, and, in fine, conclude that it cannot be paralleled in
any time, that any man for the like words no enemy in the
country so long time after should be adjudged to die." 2
Mountnorris was stripped of all his offices on the report
of the Committee of Investigation. He did not
Mountnorris . , , . . . , , ,
expelled remain more than three days in prison, though he
fice * was afterwards sent back on his refusal to acknow-
ledge the justice of his sentence.
1 Wentworth to Price, Feb. 14, S. P. Ireland.
1 Garrard to Wentworth, Jan. 25, Stratford Letters, i. 509.
VOL. VIII. O
194: COURT-MARTIAL ON MOUNTNORRIS. CH. LXXXI.
The Vice-Treastirership had long been destined by Went-
worth to the son of the Lord Chancellor, Sir Adam Lofttis.
Wentworth had actually advised him, in order to make sure of
the succession, to send over 6,000!. to England, to be distributed
amongst Cpttington, Windebank, and others. Either from pure
loyalty or because, as Laud shrewdly suspected, the secret had
oozed out, Cottington offered the whole sum to the King.
Charles took the money, and used it in the purchase of lands
in Scotland, which he was at that time buying as an endow-
ment for the two Scottish archbishoprics. 1 Loftus became
Vice-Treasurer of Ireland.
Although Charles's decision in the Deputy's favour silenced
Wentworth the voices of his accusers, Wentworth knew well that
vUit Eng- 1 tne storm might at any time burst out again, and he
land. asked leave to visit England on private business, with
the hope that he might justify his conduct to the King more
fully than it was possible for him to do by letter.
In June 1636,, Wentworth was at Charles's Court. With his
Sovereign on his side, he had enough of lip-service
Wentworth from friends and enemies alike. By the King's direc-
urt ' tion he appeared before the Council to defend his
conduct in Ireland.
Wentworth's . defence was a splendid narrative of triumphs
achieved. The Church, he said, was relieved from its poverty,
and united in doctrine and discipline with the
June 21.
Wentworth's Church of England. The Irish exchequer had been
saved from ruin. When he landed there was a yearly
deficit of 24,ooo/. and an enormous debt. In a few months
the debt would be paid, whilst a sum of 40,000/1 had been set
aside to buy up sources of revenue which had been mortgaged,
and which, when recovered, would bring in 9,45o/. a year.
There was an increase of i8,ooo/. in the revenue, and thus as
scon as the mortgages were paid off the deficit would be con-
verted into a surplus. Other sources of income might easily be
1 Cottington to Wentworth, Jan. 27 ; Wentworth to Cottington,
Feb. 13, Strafford Letters, i. 511, 514. Laud to Wentworth, Jan. 23,
Feb. 4, Laud's Works, vii. 229, 240.
1636 IRELAND UNDER WENTWORTH. 195
opened, and a considerable saving in the expenditure effected.
There would soon be a surplus of 6o,ooo/.
Such an exposition of financial success offered a sore tempta-
tion to the hungry English courtiers. Wentworth pleaded
earnestly with the Council to support him in his efforts to save
the money for the public service.
He then proceeded to show that he had not sacrificed the
interests of the State to those of the Treasury. The soldiers,
he said, were well paid and well disciplined. Every
The army. . . . , , . .
man who served in the army had passed in review
under his own eyes. When the troops were on the march they
paid fairly for everything they took, no longer satisfying their
wants by force, as if they had been in an enemy's country.
They were now welcome in every place, where before they were
an abomination to the inhabitants. The King was well served
at the same time. Never had an army been so completely
master of Ireland.
A full treasury and a strong military force may easily be
compatible with the direst misgovernment Wentworth in-
sisted that he was not liable to this reproach. Justice
Administra- ,. , ,, . . '
tion of was dispensed to all without acceptance of persons ;
' that the poor knew where to seek and to have his
relief without being afraid to appeal to his Majesty's catholic
justice against the greatest subject ; ' that ' the great men ' were
' contented with reason, because they knew not how to help
themselves, or fill their greedy appetites, where otherwise they
were as sharp set upon their own wills as any people in the
world.' The Commission of defective titles was doing its
work, and now that men could call their lands their own without
fear of question, they were able to devote themselves to the
improvement of their estates. The acts of the last Parliament
were a boon to the whole people, and ' there was a general and
steadfast belief on that side in the uprightness of
his Majesty's justice, the people were satisfied, his
Majesty by them honoured and blessed, in contemplation rf
the great and princely benefits and graces they participate of,
through his Majesty's wisdom and goodness.'
Trade flourished no less than agriculture. Two years before
O 2
196 COURT-MARTIAL ON MOUNTNORRIS. CH. LXXXL
pirates had swarmed in the Irish seas. Now the coasts were
guarded, and the pirates were no longer heard of.
Commerce was rapidly on the increase. Manu-
factures had been encouraged. The best flax seed had been
imported from Holland. Workmen had been brought over
from France and the Netherlands. Six or seven looms were
already set up, and the foundation of a great industry in the
future had been surely laid.
Wentworth at last turned to the subject which was in the
minds of all his hearers. It had been said that in his treatment
Wentworth's f offenders he ' was a severe and an austere hard-
hfs^ven- conditioned man ; rather, indeed, a Basha of Buda
ties - than the minister of a pious and Christian king.'
He earnestly declared that it was not so, that in private life
no one could charge him with harshness, and that it was ' the
necessity of his Majesty's service ' which had forced him to act
as he had done.
"And that," he continued, according to his own report in a
letter to his friend Wandesford, " was the reason, indeed ; for
where I found a Crown, a Church, and a people spoiled, I
could not imagine to redeem them from under the pressure
with gracious smiles and gentle looks. It would cost warmer
water than so. True it was that where a dominion was once
gotten and settled, it might be stayed and kept where it was by
soft and moderate counsels; but where a sovereignty be it
spoken with reverence was going down hill, the nature of a
man did so easily slide into the paths of an uncontrolled
liberty, as it would not be brought back without strength, not
be forced up the hill again but by vigour and force.
" And true it was, indeed, I knew no other rule to govern
by, but by reward and punishment ; and I must profess that
where I found a person well and entirely set for the service of
nay master, I should lay my hand under his foot, and add to
his respect and power all I might ; and that where I found the
contrary, I should not dandle ' him in my arms, or soothe him
in Jus untoward humour, but if he came in my reach, so far as
1 'handle, ' as printed.
-. ' . . t * t . . i f
.1636 IRELAND UNDER WENTWORTH. 197
honour and justice would warrant me, I must knock him
soundly over the knuckles, but no sooner he become a new
man, apply himself as he ought to the government, but I also
change my temper, and express myself to him, as unto that
other, by all good offices I could do him.
" If this be sharpness, if this be severity, I desired to be
better instructed by his Majesty and their lordships, for in
truth it did not so seem to me : however, if I were once told
that his Majesty liked not to be thus served, I would readily
conform myself, follow the bent and current of my own dis-
position, which is to be quiet, not to have debates and disputes
with any."
Wentworth may have deceived himself as to his own
character. He did not deceive himself in his expectation of
The King's tne King's approval. " Here," he continued, " his
approval. Majesty interrupted me and said that was no severity,
wished me to go on in that way, for if I served him otherwise
I should not serve him as he expected from me." 1
Wentworth's defence is not to be passed over lightly. It
is mere pedantry to meet it with arguments drawn from
constitutional theories entirely inapplicable to the
Reflections . . . . T . . . .
on his de- case. 1 he choice for Ireland in the seventeenth
century did not lie between absolutism and parlia-
mentary control, but between absolutism and anarchy. If
Wentworth be taken at his worst, it is hardly possible to
doubt that Ireland would have been better off if his sway
had been prolonged for twenty years longer than it was. Yet
with every disposition to do justice to his great qualities, it is
undeniable that not only was the system which he favoured
peculiarly liable to abuse, but that his own arrogant and
masterful temper was still more liable to foster the abuses
incident to the system. Eager, with an unsparing and almost
superhuman zeal, for the good of those who were entrusted to
his charge, he hardly cared what road he took to reach his
aims. Government in his hands was in the main a rule of
beneficence. Yet not only did he treat with disdain the feel-
1 Wentworth to Wandesford, July 25, Stratford Letters^ ii 13.
198 COURT-MARTIAL ON MOUNTNORRIS. CH. LXXXI.
ings of individuals and of whole populations, but he thrust
aside as unworthy of a moment's consideration the requirement
that he who rules should be calm and frank as well as bold.
Threats, surprises, and intrigues were equally reckoned by him
amongst legitimate weapons of defence. To bully a jury, to
cajole a Parliament, to try a man upon a capital charge in order
to drive him to resign an office, were his ordinary resources of
government Such a man never did and never could inspire
confidence. His actions would be regarded as having some
hidden meaning some deep plan to be fathomed only by
himself. Men might become richer, happier, and more pros-
perous under him ; they were hardly likely to become better.
The silent diffusion of a sense of moral order, the elevation of
mind by the contemplation of a Government subjecting force
.Wentworth's to law, were no objects at which Wentworth aimed,
established Wentworth's position appeared to be impregnable,
in Ireland. Once more, indeed, he had pleaded with Charles for
an earldom, as a mark of favour to sustain him against his
enemies, and once more he had pleaded in vain. 1 He carried
back, however, permission to proceed with the plantation of
Connaught. As far as Ireland was concerned, the whole
country was at his feet. The very gentlemen of Galway who
had stood out against him humbled themselves before him,
and entreated his good offices with the King. 2
It was impossible to separate Ireland from England. On
the one hand, the strength of Wentworth's government might
Ireland's easily become a menace to the English nation. On
within' " tne tner hand, even that strength would be under-
Und - mined by any weakness which might appear in
Charles's authority in England.
1 Wentworth to the King, Aug. 23. Laud to Wentworth, Aug. 23,
Wentworth to Laud, Aug. 26, Str afford Letters, ii. 26, 27, 31.
* Notes of the Committee for Irish Affairs, July 8, 1636. Galway
Petition, Feb. 9, 1637, S. P. Ireland.
199
CHAPTER LXXXII.
THE THIRD WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY.
To all outward appearance Charles's authority had never been
stronger than in the summer of 1636. Ship-money was paid
x6 6 with reluctance, but reluctance had not yet ripened
Apparent into defiance. The judges, the sheriffs, and the
Charles's justices of the peace were the ready instruments of
position. the King The 5j s i lopS) w i tn a i arge an( j increas-
ing number of the clergy, were his enthusiastic supporters.
Everything was on his side, except the people of England.
How the Protestantism of England was alienated has been
told already. In the summer of 1636 men who cared little for
Protestantism were beginning to fear for their pockets. The
additional impositions agreed upon by the Treasury Commis-
sion in the preceding summer were now levied. The 30,0007.
which as yet flowed into the exchequer from this source were
far from being the measure of the injury resented. In theory
the King had assigned to himself the right of burdening com-
merce as he pleased when he levied tonnage and poundage
without a parliamentary grant. At last the theory had clothed
increase of itself in a practical increase of the duties, and men
customs. wno W ere slow to be moved by Eliot's assertion of
the privileges and rights of Parliaments were stirred to anger
when they found that they had to buy their wine or their silk
at dearer rates than before. Other burdens were added at the
Fines on de- same time. Country gentlemen were summoned
populations. b e f ore a Commission of Depopulations, and were
fined for pulling down cottages on their estates. The notion
200 THIRD WRIT O* 'SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXXII.
that the King was the supreme regulator of trade was finding
Erection of expression in the erection of new corporations, which,
corporations. at j east j n t h e O pi n i on o f the Crown lawyers, were
exempt from the operation of the Monopoly Act, but which
were allowed to exclude all other persons from the exercise of
certain employments. The intention may have been good,
but the way in which it was carried into effect did not serve to
increase the popularity of the Government.
In the midst of this growing feeling of dissatisfaction, the
third writ of ship money, the second of tho. i ;e which had been
Oct. 9 . sent out to the whole of England, was duly issued on
Iri'of'Jhi October 9, 1636. It was no longer possible to regard
money. ship-money as a temporary burden imposed to meet
an emergency. It was evidently intended to remain as a per-
manent tax upon the nation.
The resistance to the collection of the last levy had been
rather local than national. When the third writ was issued the de-
ficiency of the collection under the second amounted
inlast'co^ to 2o,544/., of which i2,ooo/., or more than half,
was owing by the six counties of Northumberland,
Somerset, Warwick, Oxford, Northampton, and Essex. 1 The
resistance to the third writ was at once raised in the very
presence of the King himself. Men of the highest rank, and
of the most loyal and devoted character, saw clearly that nothing
Rising op- l ess tnan tne whole future constitution of England
position. was at stake. Just as Laud's innovations had driven
the moderate Protestants into the arms of the Puritans, so did
the third writ of ship-money drive the moderate constitutional-
ists into the arms of the partisans of Parliamentary supremacy.
Doubtless the tide of opposition was swelled by many a stream
stained and corrupted at its source. There were men who, in
mere gaiety of heart, were ready to plunge England into war ;
and there were men who, without counting the cost, were ready
to stir the fire of civil faction. There were others who hardly
knew what they wanted or whither they were going. The
strength of the opposition did not lie here. It was to be found
in the fixed resolution of peer and commoner not to allow the
1 S. P. Dom. cccxxxiii. 30.
1636 RISING OPPOSITION. 2OI
hereditary rights of Englishmen to be sacrificed. They had
b^en willing that Parliaments should remain in abeyance for a
time. They were not willing that they should be cast aside for
ever as obstacles in the path of an arbitrary and irresponsible
Government.
The mouthpiece of this class, so little prone to faction and,
from the very moderation of its sentiments, so dangerous to
December ^ enc ^' was Henry Danvers, Earl of Danby. He was
Danby's one of those men who allow the prizes of fortune to
slip past them. In Elizabeth's reign he had fought
bravely in the Low Countries and at sea. As a friend and
follower of Essex he had been placed in high office by him in
Ireland. His elder brother, Sir Charles Danvers, was involved
in his patron's treason, and suffered on the scaffold. He was
himself taken into favour by James, made Lord President of
Munster, and subsequently Governor of the Channel Islands.
He might at one time have been ambassador in France, with
the prospect of succeeding Falkland as Lord Deputy of Ire-
land, but his health was broken and he shrank from the exer-
tions of a post which taxed all the resources of Wentworth.
He now stepped forward from his retirement to warn Charles
of the risk which he was incurring. He told him that, as an
old servant of the Crown, he could no longer refrain from
representing to him the universal discontent of his subjects.
The new levies of money were repugnant to the fundamental
laws of England, and to those privileges which their ancestors
and themselves had till the present time enjoyed. It was of
the manner in which the money was raised, not of the amount,
that they complained. He had spoken to no one who was not
ready to shed his blood for his Majesty. He entreated him to
reflect that the only way of giving satisfaction to his subjects
was to summon Parliament.
When Danby's letter was placed in the King's hands, he
was chatting with some of his attendants. They observed that
The King he changed colour as he read it. When he came to
receives it. ^g en j h e wa Hf e( j U p an d down the room, showing
his displeasure by his gestures. 1
Correr to the Doge, Dec. ^ Ven. MSS.
202 THIRD WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXXII.
Charles, in truth, had gone too far to take Danby's well-
meant advice. It would doubtless have been easier to come to
terms with a Parliament in 1637 than it afterwards was to agree
with a Parliament in 1640 ; but it would have been harder than
it had been in 1629. The King would have to consent to some
limitation of his authority in Church and State, to abandon the
ecclesiastical system which he had carefully built up, and to
admit, in some form or other, his responsibility to Parliament.
Charles hoped to content his people with less than this.
He fancied that the inactivity of his fleet in the last summer
Charles was t ^ ie mam cause f discontent He now gave out
shrinks from that better things were to be expected in the coming
summoning . .
a Pariia- season. The sovereignty of the sea was to be asserted
over the Dutch fishermen. Something was to be done
for the Elector Palatine. An active foreign policy, in short,
was to turn men's thoughts away from domestic grievances.
Before the end of the year Arundel was again in England.
He had felt his failure at Vienna almost as a personal insult
Hitherto he had been an advocate of peace and of
Dec. 30.
Arundei's an alliance with the House of Austria, He came
back a changed man : bitterly denouncing the per-
fidy of Spain, and persistently arguing in favour of a French
alliance, even if it should lead to open war. l
Joyfully did the lords of the Opposition welcome their new
ally. Charles was hourly besieged with cries for war
Charles J . _. .. TT i j j r i
urged to go and a Parliament. He had no mind for either. He
turned sharply upon Warwick, in whose county of
Essex the collection of ship-money was as backward as might
Resistance nave been expected in a district still under the lash
money "in * tne Forest Court. 2 In many places the money
Essex. could only be obtained by the distraint and sale of
rattle ; and in one instance a horse which had been sold had
been carried off by force from its purchaser by its original
1 Correr to the Doge, Dec. , yen. MSS.
* Mildmay to the Council, Dec. II, 16, 5. P. Dom. cccxxxvii. 27,
41. On Jan. 20, I,9OO/. were still unpaid in Essex on the second writ.
Ibiit. cccxliv. 50.
1637 RISING OPPOSITION. 203
owner. Charles blamed Warwick as a supporter of this in*
l637 . subordination of his tenants. Warwick's reply was
January. couc hed in terms far plainer than Uanby's letter had
Warwick
called to been. His tenants, he said, were old men, and had
been accustomed to the mild government of Queen
Elizabeth and King James. They could not bring themselves
to consent, at the end of their lives, to so notable a prejudice
to the liberties of the kingdom ; nor were they willing volun-
tarily to deprive their posterity of those benefits which they had
themselves inherited from their ancestors as a sacred deposit,
though they were ready, one and all, to sacrifice life and goods
for his Majesty. If only the King would join France in a war
for the Palatinate, and would maintain his own sovereignty
over the sea, Parliament would gladly furnish all the supplies
he needed.
Such language had not reached the ears of Charles since
Eliot died in the Tower. Warwick, as Charles, well knew, did
A protest not stand alone. The lords who sympathised with
proposed. hj s bold declaration were actually drawing up a
protest echoing the words which he had spoken. If this
protest ever really came into existence, in all probability it
never reached Charles's eye. He allowed it to be plainly
understood that he would have nothing to do with a Parlia-
ment. To call Parliament was equivalent to an abandonment
of the ecclesiastical ceremonies, and for that he was not
prepared. l
For anything short of that, however, Charles was now
prepared. Arundel's vigorous language weighed upon his
Charles pre- mm d. ^ n va i n Onate protested against the slur cast
pares to by the ambassador upon his master's good faith.
assist his '
nephew. Charles assured his nephews that he was disgusted
with the treatment which he had received from the House of
Austria, and was determined to do himself right. 2 He was
1 Correr to the Doge, Jan. -, Ven. MSS. The protest printed in
Rushiuorth, ii. 359, may perhaps have been that which eventually wai
drawn up, but it does not quite agree with Correr's account.
2 Correr to the Doge, Jan. I3 , Ven. MSS.
204 THIRD WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXXII,
specially angry at the news that the King of Hungary had been
chosen King of the Romans, and that Maximilian of Bavaria
had been allowed to give an electoral vote. A meeting of the
Foreign Affairs Committee decided that some of the King's
ships should be lent to the young Elector, to put to sea under
the flag of the Palatine House. The Danes and the
Jan. 16.
Ships to be Swedes were to be invited to co-operate actively in
lent to him. so g O(X j a cause. 1 All this Charles fancied he could
Jan. 22. (jQ without giving offence to anyone. When the
resolution of the Committee was referred to the full Council,
he asked the opinion of the members how the business could
be best effected without the least danger of breaking with Spain.
Feb. i. After much discussion, it was resolved that the ships
should be lent. Merchant vessels lying in the Thames were to
be pressed to make up the number. The news of the King's
concession was received with enthusiastic applause at Court.
Noblemen came forward to offer voluntary contributions to
lighten the expense. Lord Craven declared himself ready to give
as much as 3o,ooo/. It is not likely that those who thus freely
opened their purses expected very happy results from such an
enterprise ; but, though they knew well that the Palatinate was
not to be recovered by the capture of a few Spanish cruisers,
they believed that the conflict, once begun, would not be
limited to the sea. When once he was engaged even indirectly
Charles would find it impossible to draw back. Onate had told
him that he would not be allowed to make war under his
nephew's cloak, and everyone but Charles himself was of
opinion that Onate was in the right.
So, too, thought the trench Government. Richelieu could
not comprehend how Charles could mean anything
Kresh over- l '
tures from but war with Spain, ihe very day on which the
decision was taken in the Council, a courier arrived
with fresh overtures from France. 2 Richelieu no longer
1 Beveren to the States-General, Jan. 6 . BoswelPs proposal at the
Hague, Feb. *, Add. MSS. 17,677 P. fol. 148, 161.
2 Correr to the Doge, Feb. 3._i y en j^fss. Beveren to the State*
13, 20
Genera!, ^ V Feb. 2, Add. MSS. 17,677 O, fol. 166, 163.
1637 FRENCH OVERTURES. 20$
demanded the immediate conclusion of a league offensive and
defensive. It would be enough for the present if Charles would
agree to an auxiliary treaty, as it was called, by which he was
to engage to give no help either directly or indirectly to Spain,
the Emperor, or Bavaria, to allow the levy of 6,oco volun-
teers for the service of Louis, and to put to sea at least thirty
armed vessels to guard the coasts of France and England and
hinder the transport of money and munitions to Flanders.
On the other hand, Louis was to make no peace without
Charles's consent, or even to treat for it without assurance oi
the restitution of the Palatinate, Maximilian being, however,
allowed to retain the Electoral title for his lifetime. A con-
ference was to be opened at Hamburg or che Hague, at which
the allies of France were to meet to draw up conditions em-
bodying these demands. If the Emperor refused to grant
them, England would then join France in an offensive and
defensive alliance. Besides all this, the Elector was at once to
be sent to sea at the head of twelve or fifteen ships.
Even the league offensive and defensive, distant as it was,
was explained away so as to suit Charles's taste. It was to bind
him to nothing more than a maritime war. He was to stop the
passage of ships between Spain and the Indies and between
Spain and Flanders. Places taken by the French in the Low
Countries were to be deposited in the hands of the Elector
Palatine, as a pledge for the ultimate restitution of his
inheritance.
Charles could hardly avoid taking into consideration a pro-
posal so studiously moderate ; but he resolved to make sure
Charles de- ol ^ s P os it' on at home before he entered into any
terminesto engagement abroad. His right to levy ship-money
consult the . .
j.-dges about was now denied, not by isolated persons, nor even
siiip-money. . , j /. L L L i j
by isolated groups of persons, but by the leaders
of the nobility, by councillors of state, by men of weight and
influence in the country. At least the substance of the pro-
testation drawn up can hardly have failed to come to his
knowledge, and he must have heard that an intention
existed of bringing the question to an issue in the Courts of
Westminster in such a manner that it would be impossible to
2o6 THIRD WRIT OF SHIP-MONE Y. CH. Lxxxit
dispose of the complaint as summarily as Chambers had been
dismissed by Berkeley a few months before.
Once more therefore Charles proceeded to state his case
to the judges. " Taking into our princely consideration," he
wrote, "that the honour and safety of this our
The King's realm of England, the preservation of which is only
lctter ' entrusted to our care, was and is now more nearly
concerned than in late former times, as well by divers counsels
and attempts to take from us the dominion of the seas, of
which we are sole lord and rightful owner and proprietor, and
the loss whereof would be of greatest danger and peril to this
kingdom and other our dominions, as many other ways ; We,
for the avoiding of these and the like dangers, well weighing
with ourselves that where the good and safety of the kingdom
in general is concerned, and the whole kingdom in danger,
there the charge and defence ought to be borne by all the
realm in general, did for preventing so public a mischief
resolve with ourselves to have a Royal navy provided that
might be of force and power, with Almighty God's blessing
and assistance, to protect and defend this our realm and our
subjects therein from all such perils and dangers ; and for that
purpose we issued forth writs, commanding thereby all our said
subjects to provide such a number of ships well furnished as
might serve for this our royal purpose, and which might be
done with the greatest equality that could be. In performance
whereof, though generally throughout all the counties of this
our realm we have found in our subjects great cheerfulness and
alacritv, which we graciously interpret as a testimony as well
of their dutiful affections to us and to our service as of the
respect they have to the public, which well becometh every
good subject :
" Nevertheless, finding that some few, haply out of ignor-
ance what the laws and customs of this our realm are, or out
of a desire to be eased and freed in their particulars, how
general soever the charge ought to be, have not yet paid and
contributed the several rates and assessments that were set
upon them ; and foreseeing, in our princely wisdom, that from
hence divers suits and actions are not unlikely to be com-
1637 AN APPEAL TO THE JUDGES. 207
menced and prosecuted in our several courts at Westminster ;
We, desirous to avoid such inconveniences, and out of our
princely love and affection to all our people, being willing to
prevent such errors as any of our loving subjects may happen
to run into, have thought fit in a case of this nature to advise
with you our judges, who we doubt not are all well studied
and informed in the rights of our sovereignty ; and because the
trials in our several courts by the formality of pleadings will
require a long protraction, we have thought expedient by this
our letter, directed to you all, to require your judgments in the
case as it is set down in the enclosed paper, which will not
only gain time, but also be of more authority to overrule any
prejudicate opinions of others in the point."
Such a letter speaks for itself. Objectionable as was the
practice of consulting the judges as legal advisers of the
Nature of Crown, it was sanctioned by too long a course
this letter. Q f precedents to make it likely that it would be
lightly abandoned. Hitherto, however, whenever the Crown
had asked the opinion of the judges, it had asked that opinion
at least ostensibly to enable it to shape its course according to
the law. Charles now openly asked them to promulgate that
opinion which he had received from them a year before, not
to enlighten himself, but to hinder his subjects from arguing
the disputed question in Westminster Hall. No doubt,
as Finch, who was again entrusted with the work of persua-
sion, afterwards declared, they all knew that their opinion
could have no binding force till it had been argued be-
fore them by counsel ; but neither can there be any doubt
that the King wished it to be accepted by his subjects as
binding.
The case laid before the judges was as follows : " When
the good and safety of the kingdom in general is concerned,
The King's and the whole kingdom is in danger ; Whether
may not the King by writ under the Great Seal
command all the subjects of this kingdom, at their charge, to
provide and furnish such number of ships with men, victuals,
and munition, and for such time as he shall think fit, for the
defence and safeguard of the kingdom from such danger and
9o8 THIRD WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXXII.
peril, and by law compel the doing thereof in case of refusal
or refractoriness ?
" And whether in such case is not the King the sole judge,
both of the danger, and when and how the same is to be pre-
vented and avoided ? "
Alter five days' deliberation, all the twelve judges returned
an answer in the affirmative to both these questions. Croke and
Feb Hutton had only signed because they were informed
Answer of that it was the practice that the minority should be
.he judges. ^ound by tne O pj n j on o f the majority, and Bramston,
if we may trust the tradition of his family, would have pre-
ferred to insert words limiting the obligation of furnishing
ships to the time of necessity only. But the objection was
overruled, and a week afterwards the opinion was read publicly
Feb. i 4 . in the Star Chamber by the Lord Keeper as ' the
Theiranswer uniform resolution of all the judges' opinions with
publicly
read. one voice.' Orders were given that it should be
entered in the Star Chamber, in Chancery, in the King's
Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer, and that it should be
published by the judges at the assizes. Coventry, indeed,
added that it was not the King's intention to prohibit his
subjects from bringing actions if they chose to do so, but he
plainly hinted his belief that any lawyer would be very foolish
who took up so desperate a cause in defiance of the fathers of
the law. 1
The judges had been fairly launched upon the tide of
political conflict. The question which they had been asked to
Portion of decide was not one to be settled by mere reference
the judges. to statute and precedent The sovereignty of Eng-
land was involved in it ; and it was hardly to be expected that
more than a small minority of the judges, dependent as their
seats were upon the good pleasure of the Crown, would be
quick-sighted to detect the weakness in Charles's case.
Out of the atmosphere of Westminster Hall, however, the
solution arrived at by the judges seemed strange indeed. To
1 The King to the Judges, Feb. 2. Answer of the Judges, Feb. 7,
S. P. Dom. cccxlvi. n, 14 Autobiography of Sir J. Bramstom, 68.
Rush-worth, ii. 352.
1637 THE JUDGES AND THE NATION. 209
men with their eyes open it was perfectly clear that Charles's
claim had nothing in common with the demands which the
Plantagenet kings had put forward in their hours of peril.
Even if it had been conceded, as we at least may fairly concede,
that the King had judged rightly that the growth of the mari-
time forces of France and the Netherlands constituted a perma-
nent danger to England, which needed to be met by a permanent
defence, the men of that day might fairly argue that it was all
the more necessary that Charles should take the nation into
his counsel. Their common sense told them that it was no
question whether the King or the Parliament was the best
judge of danger. It was a question whether Parliaments
should cease to exist in England. l The desire to go back to
the old state of things seized upon the minds of Englishmen.
Unhappily, under Charles's mismanagement, the old days,
when Crown and Parliament could work harmoniously together,
had passed away, at least for a time.
It could not be long before the bitter feeling thus aroused
would make itself plainly felt. For the present, however, the
opinion of the judges had its weight. Rapidly and surely the
collection of ship-money proceeded. 2 On February 18 the
whole sum gathered in upon the new writ was
54,ooo/., on March 4 it was 68,5oo/., and the amount
had risen to 89,ooo/. by the end of the month. 3
1 The language, incorrect as it is, in which the Venetian Ambassador
described the opinion of the judges is significant of the sense in which it
was taken by his informants. They declared, he says ' che il Re per
difesa del regno et per altri simili gravi urgenze, per il bene del medesimo
habbia libera faccolta d'imponer taglie et aggravie a sudditi a voglia sua,
senza haverne mai a render conto al Parlamento del bisogno che in qual-
sivoglia tempo possa astringerlo a tal deliberatione, dovendo esser giudice
lui solo et la sua sola conscienza, non obligate a render conto ne dei pro-
prii dissegni ne degl' interessi dello stato, a chi si sia de : suoi vassalli.'
The consequence, he goes on to say, will be 'a sradicare in un colpo per
sempre la radunanza de Parlamento et a render il Re in tutto e per tutto
independente e sovrano.' Correr to the Doge, Feb. , Vcn. MSS.
* Correr to the Doge, March ^-, Yen. MSS.
'3
Accounts of Ship-money, Feb. 18, March 4, 31, S. P. Dotn. cccxlvii
43, cccxlix. 31, cccli. 56.
VOL. VIII. P
2io THIRD WRIT OF SHIP-MONE Y. CH. LXXXIL
On February 17, three days after the Lord Keeper's
announcement of the opinion of the judges, the treaty proposed,
, by France, corrected in some minor particulars, was
The treaty finally accepted by the King. 1 On the 2oth it was
ccepte . sent back to France. No one at the English Court
i-K Fe ^'- 2 '' entertained a doubt that the French alliance was se-
i he King
certain that cure. Full powers were sent to Leicester to conclude
alliance is everything by March. The moment the news should
reach England that the treaty had been signed pre-
parations were to be made for sending the Elector to sea. He
was to sail on April 15 with fifteen ships of war, carrying an
Admiral's commission from the King of France. Money was
expected to pour in from the rich lords and commoners who
were anxious to support the enterprise. 2
Never to the inexperienced- had Charles's affairs appeared
in a more prosperous condition. Opposition at home seemed to
have been silenced by the declaration of the judges. Abroad
the King seemed to be on the eve of obtaining that which
he had long sought in vain the pledge of a great power to
obtain for him the Palatinate, the sole object of his aim upon
the Continent, in return for a merely maritime assistance.
All this, too, was to be his without any necessity of recurring
to Parliament.
Those who applauded Charles's resolution knew well that
he was embarking on a course entailing larger responsibilities
than he imagined, and that a war once begun indirectly could
not be circumscribed at his bidding. If their hearts were a
little in the Palatinate, they were much more in England. On
the despatches which went forth to Leicester they saw written
in invisible characters the supremacy of Parliament, the re-
organisation of the Church, and the humiliation of Laud.
Laud himself was distracted between hope and fear ; but it
was hope that predominated. Like his master, he believed in
the possibility of limiting the war. " God speed what must go
1 Treaties, Feb. 14, S. P. France.
2 Beveren to the States-General, ~, Add. MSS. 17,677 P, foL
176.
PEACE OR WAR? 211
on," he wrote to Wentworth. " But, God be thanked, in all this
Feb. H troublesome business God hath exceedingly blessed
ifThe 5 view his Majesty. For this term, the judges have all de-
position, clared under their hands, unanimously, that if the
kingdom be in danger, the King may call for, and ought to
have, supply for ship-money through the kingdom, and that
the King is sole judge when the kingdom is in this danger.
So that now the King if he be put to it may anger his
enemies at sea, and I hope no man shall persuade him to
undertake land-forces out of the kingdom. I did fear every-
thing till this point was gained. Now, by God's blessing, all
may go well, though it should be war." l
There was one man amongst Charles's subjects who at the
same time foresaw his danger and desired to avert it. That
Feb. 28. man was Wentworth, and to him Charles applied for
The King advice. It was the first time, as far as we know,
applies to
Wentworth. that the Lord Deputy's opinion had ever been asked
on the larger issues of policy. Wentworth knew too well the
arduous nature of the difficulties which had still to be over-
come at home before Charles could hope to gather round him
a submissive Parliament, to look with anything but the deepest
distrust upon the merest shadow of warlike action. To the
fortunes of the Palatinate he was utterly indifferent. A rich
and prosperous England under his master's sceptre was the
ideal for which he strove, and all other considerations were
but as dust in the balance.
" I must confess," he wrote in reply, " the services and
interests of your Majesty are laid so near and close to my
heart as it affects me very much to hear the peace and pros-
March i P er ity f y ur a ff a i rs at home disquieted by entering
Wentwonh's again into action upon any foreign hopes or en-
Kmg'not e gagements abroad, until the Crown were discharged
prepared for of debts> the coflfers fi ], ed) an( j youf Ma j esty > s profit s
and sovereignties set upon their right foot throughout
your three kingdoms. And in truth, this foundation well and
surely laid, what, under the goodness of Almighty God, could be
1 Laud to Wentworth, Feb. n, Works, vii. 315,
t 2
212 THIRD WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXXII.
able to shake this monarchy or stay the wheel of your Majesty's
triumph ? "
It was ' an acknowledged truth,' he proceeded to say, ' that
kings and common parents ought, next to themselves, princi-
TO look at pally to intend the weal and security of their people
home first. f or w h om they are . . . answerable to the world in
point of honour and to Almighty God in case of conscience.'
The proposed war would certainly bring with it a great charge,
and would interrupt that stream of commerce of which England
as a neutral State was reaping the benefits. It might fairly be
asked whether the King was bound in justice and honour to
restore his nephew at all. The misfortunes of that family had
not been due to any advice given to it from England. Even
if any such duty existed, it was doubtful whether France were
either able or willing to give effectual help. It was also to be
doubted whether the mere assistance of an English fleet would
be sufficient to induce France to fulfil all the promises she
might make ; and even if this were taken for granted, it must
be remembered that a fleet sent to sea was subject to casualties,
and that it was useless to send it out without being ready to
reinforce it, or even to provide a second fleet if the first were
destroyed.
Here, then, came the practical question which Charles had
so unaccountably overlooked. If the fleet needed reinforce-
ment, what was to be done? Were the subjects
flee* to be to be asked to pay two levies of ship-money in the
reinforced. same vear p jf no ^ ^^ remained but to summon
Parliament ?
Further, it is clear that Wentworth wished the King to have
the acknowledged .right of levying money to support an army,
An army as we ^ as nioney to support a navy. Thus only would
necessary, he b e able to defend England by keeping his ad-
versaries employed abroad. " It is plain indeed," he continued,
" that the opinion delivered by the judges, declaring the lawful-
ness of the assignment for the shipping, is the greatest service
that profession hath done the Crown in my time. But, unless
his Majesty hath the like power declared to raise a land army
upon the same exigent of State, the Crown seems to me to stand
.637 WENTWORTWS ADVICE. 213
but upon one leg at home, to be considerable but by halves to
foreign princes abroad. Yet even this, methinks, convinces a
power for the sovereign to raise payments for land forces, and
consequently submits to his wisdom and ordinance the trans-
porting of the money or men into foreign states, so to carry by
way of prevention the fire from ourselves into the dwellings of
our enemies an act which it seems Edward III. and Henry V.
full well understood and if by degrees Scotland and Ireland
be drawn to contribute their proportions to these levies for the
public, omne tulit punctum.
" Seeing then that this piece well fortified, for ever vindi-
cates the Royalty at home from under the conditions and
restraints of subjects, renders us also abroad even to the
greatest kings the most considerable monarchy in Christendom ;
seeing again, this is a business to be attempted and won from
the subject in time of peace only, and the people first accus-
tomed to those levies, when they may be called upon, as by
way of prevention for our future safety, and keep his Majesty
thereby also moderator of the peace of Christendom, rather
than upon the bleeding evil of an instant and active war ; I
beseech you what piety of alliances is there that should divert
a great and wise king forth of a path which leads so manifestly,
so directly, to the establishing his own throne and the secure
and independent seating of himself and posterity in wealth,
strength, and glory, far above any their progenitors, verily in
such a condition as there were no more hereafter to be wished
them in this world but that they would be very exact in their
care for the just and moderate government of their people,
which might minister back to them again the plenties and
comforts of life ; that they would be most searching and severe
in punishing the oppressions and wrongs of their subjects, as
well in the case of the public magistrate as of private persons,
and lastly to be utterly resolved to exercise this power only for
public and necessary uses ; to spare them as much and often
as were possible, and that they never be wantonly vitiated or
misapplied to any private pleasure or person whatsoever. This
being indeed the very only means to preserve, as may be said,
the chastity of these levies, and to recommend their beauty so
214 THIRD WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXXH.
far forth to the subject, as being thus disposed, it is to be justly
hoped they will never grudge the parting with their monies." 1
It is unnecessary to follow Wentworth into the details of
his recommendations. Never was any State paper written in
which the object and the means by which it was to
recommen- 6 be gained stand more clearly before the reader. It
needs no interpreter to explain its meaning. It is
the old, old story of a beneficent despotism, of the monarch
who is to cast all personal affections, all dynastic entanglements
aside in order that he may establish a power which he may use
for his people's good. It was no new thought which had won
its way into Wentworth's mind. Once he had looked for his
ideal of government to the authority of the Crown exercised in
such a way as to deserve the approbation of the House of
Commons, In his hatred of the anarchy and disorder which
was proceeding from an incapable minister, he had leaned more
upon the voice of the House of Commons than under other
circumstances he would have been inclined to do. Then had
come a rude awakening. The House of Commons put forth
its hand to grasp the sovereignty of the State, and became in
its turn, as it might well seem to him, the fountain of anarchy
and disorder. He chose his side. He stood for the King, to
bring order out of disorder, discipline out of anarchy. Still
there was to be answering acceptance by the governed, no longer
indeed from the old political classes, but from ' the new social
strata' beneath them, speaking their inarticulate thanks not
in parliamentary oratory, but in heartfelt prayers by humble
cottage hearths. Every year that he had passed in Ireland had
branded this ideal of government more deeply on his mind.
It could not be that the medicine which had cured, or seemed
to cure, so many ills on one side of St. George's Channel, should
fail of its efficacy on the other.
There have been nations in such a stage of political de-
velopment that Wentworth's advice would have been, if not
the highest policy, at least the highest possible policy. It is
not likely that, with his feeling of dislike towards France, there
1 Wentworth to the King, March 31, inclosing Considerations, &c.,
Letters t ii. 59.
1637 WENTWORTH AND RICHELIEU. 21 *
was in Wentworth any conscious imitation of Richelieu ; but
there may well have been an unconscious tendency
Comparison . J
between to aim by the same means at the ends at which
Wentworth -,.,.. . T^ i j 11 u j
and Riche- Richelieu was aiming. England may well be proud
of possessing in Wentworth a nobler, if a less prac-
tical statesman than Richelieu, of the type to which, the
great Cardinal belonged. He was more solicitous for the in-
ternal welfare of his country than Richelieu was, less solicitous
for its external greatness. The prosperity of the poor, of the
weak, of all who had none to help them, held a larger place
in his imagination. On the other hand, as far as the foreign
relations of the country were concerned, he stands on a lower
level than Richelieu. Anticipating the policy of the reign of
Charles II. and of the eighteenth century, he thought of making
England materially prosperous, without care for the moral and
spiritual interests of Europe as a whole. His foreign policy,
like that of Chatham, was distinctly English ; whilst that of
Richelieu aimed at serving France by entering into combina-
tion with the interests of the most developed of European states.
Whatever may be thought of Wentworth's policy, Eng-
land may be proud to remember that she needed not the
terrible surgery to which he would have subjected her. In
France, to vindicate the throne ' from under the conditions
and restraints of subjects ' was to cast off the tyranny of a self-
seeking nobility entirely devoid of public spirit and aiming
solely at enriching themselves at the public expense. It would
be to close our eyes to the history of the parliaments of the
early part of the eighteenth century to assert that no danger ol
the kind awaited England ; but the danger was as nothing to
the danger which awaited England from Wentworth's success.
If the great dramatist who had told forth the historical concep-
tions of the Elizabethan age had held up to admiration, in
Henry V., a king who could live free from the conditions and
restraints of subjects, he had acknowledged that the imposi-
tion of those conditions and restraints upon Richard II. was
the last sad necessity of evil rule. He could recount the scenes
of the life of John without according even a passing glance to
the barons of Runnimede. Though he felt no attraction to the
2J6 THIRD WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXXI!.
great Earl Simon, or the greater Edward I., and though, in
telling of the Parliament which called Richard II. to account,
he dwelt upon its janglings and its injustice, he could yet
acknowledge its action to be a necessity. Yet though to the
student of Shakspere there is nothing startling in Wentworth's
reliance on the nobleness of kingship rather than on the popular
will, it was none the less a mighty revolution which Wentworth
was imagining. That which for Shakspere was the result of the
combined force of ability and character in the ruler, was placed
by Wentworth above those conditions. The armed soldiers
and the armed fleet which he was anxious to gather for the
defence of the throne would fight for a bad governor as well as
for a good one ; would arm the King against treason and con-
spiracy, but would also arm him against the natural conse-
quences of his own errors and crimes. Shakspere had seen
what Wentworth could not see, that it was better that a govern-
ment should be levelled in the dust than that it should cease
to be answerable for its faults. From the midst of the glories
of the Elizabethan age he had proclaimed that principle of the
responsibility of the Government by which the English people
had been truly great, that principle which is deeply rooted in
the highest needs of the human race itself. To this principle
Wentworth had become a traitor an honourable, high-minded
traitor it may be but a traitor still. If Charles had been far
greater and nobler than he was, if his will had been the true
measure of justice for his generation, nothing short of the as-
surance of the utter incapacity of the political classes of England
for taking part in government at all could have justified Went-
worth in choosing to rest the powers of government upon the
unchecked will of the sovereign.
Clear perception of all the conditions of action was there-
fore wanting to Wentworth. He could see nothing in Puritan-
ism but the dry unimaginative contentiousness of a Prynne ;
nothing in the political opposition but the greedy brainless
agitation of a Holland. Above all, he could not see how
utterly unsuitable Charles was to become the corner-stone of
the policy which he contemplated. With what ears would
Charles hear that Wentworth had recommended him to post-
1637 A SEARCH FOR ALLIES. 217
pone, if not entirely to sacrifice, those claims of his sister and
her family which had been so near to his heart ever since he
came to the throne ? With what ears would he hear that
Wentworth, in his long exposition of the objects to be aimed at
by means of ship-money, had absolutely forgotten, till twenty days
after his letter was written, even to mention that scheme for
obtaining from the Dutch the payment for the fishing licences
which he himself looked to as an acknowledgment of his
claim to the sovereignty of the seas ? ! Wentworth's political
aims would have been equally worthy of condemnation, and
would have been far more dangerous, if a ruler with a spirit as
lofty as his own had been upon the throne of England. As it
was he might as well have been engaged in spinning ropes out
of the sand of the sea as in building up a potent and absolute
monarchy of which the sceptre was to be held in the hands of
Charles. It needed not Wentworth's voice to rebuke Charles's
fluctuation between peace and war. Already that
J he rrench * *
treaties re- policy was crumbling away by its own inherent rot-
ferred to ' ,11 , , -r-
future con- tenness. No sooner had the treaty reached France
than the French began to raise objections to the
alterations which Charles had made in it. In vain Charles
urged haste, that his nephew's fleet might put to sea. He was told
that, though Louis was himself ready to accept the treaty, he
could not ratify it till it had been referred to the consideration
of the allies who were shortly to meet in conference at Hamburg.
Another summer would thus be lost, an object which it is
probable enough that the French, despairing of any real aid
from Charles, had in view from the very commencement of the
negotiations. 2
In vain Charles, being disappointed of help from France,
had attempted to fall back upon Spain, and had sent Windebank
to propose to Onate one more secret treaty for the Palatinate.
Onate replied by asking what Charles intended to do against
France and the Dutch. Then came a renewal of the old dis-
pute, whether Spain was to begin the friendship by restoring
1 Wentworth to the King, April 19, Strafford Letters, ii. 64.
7 Leicester to Coke, March 29 ; Coke to Leicester, May 6 ; Leicester
to Coke, June 6, 12, 5. P. France.
2i8 THIRD WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXXII.
the Palatinate, or England by making war against the Dutch.
Onate kept up the discussion, but he wrote home that it was
of no importance whatever. Charles, he said, as had been so
often said before, was too weak to make war unless he would
consent to summon Parliament and to accept it as his master
" a thing which both he and his ministers were afraid of. The
Spanish Government, like the French, saw clearly that all that
was to be done with Charles was to keep him amused. Riche-
lieu and Olivares were well aware that, however much he might
talk, he would never act. 1
Charles's dealings with the Dutch were of a piece with his
dealings with France and Spain. Early in the year, Winde-
bank had been instructed to write to Boswell at the
January.
windebank's Hague, suggesting the probability that, if instead of
?he l Duteh negotiating with the State authorities, he should enter
fishermen. mtQ commun ication with the fishermen themselves,
they would all of them cheerfully and unanimously accept his
Majesty's gracious offer of licences, and most willingly come
under his protection. Boswell was to reinforce this reason-
ing by a judicious use of money, in gratuities and rewards
to those that were ' most powerful and likely to make the
greatest opposition among them.' 2 Boswell reported that
the fishermen were not averse to the proposal, but that they
wished to know how the King of England's licences were to
protect them against the cruisers of the Cardinal Infant. If
the Government at Brussels would acknowledge their sufficiency,
the offer would be worth thinking of. The next best thing
would be to induce the Cardinal Infant to support the King's
licences with passports of his own, if it were only for the pre-
sent season. It was unreasonable to ask them to depend
merely on the protection of the English fleet. If Boswell
would settle the matter for them, they would gladly place
1 Message by Windebank to Onate, April 3 ; Philip IV. to Onate,
jV pnl 3 , May - ; Onate's answer to Winclebank, May j 3 -. Answer of the
King, ^ ay - 2 - 3 ; Onate to Philip IV., ^7. MayJ sinumcas MSS. 2521,
& June 2 June 6, June 7
25r5-
* Windebank to Boswell, Jan. (?), 5. P Holland.
r637 THE DUTCH FISHERMEN. 219
j,ooo/. at his disposal. 1 After some further haggling, the sum
was raised to 2,ooo/. With Charles's full approval the money
was forwarded to Gerbier at Brussels, to use as he thought best
in gaining over the Spanish authorities.
Gerbier was an adept at such intrigues. He bribed the
mistress of the Cardinal Infant. He made pressing instances
A rfl with the brother of the leading minister, President
Negotiations De Roose. He was successful even beyond his
expectations. The Cardinal Infant was won to
promise the passports which Gerbier had been instructed to
demand. Then in the moment of triumph the cup was dashed
from, his lips. The old Marquis of Fuentes, who was the King
of Spain's admiral in those seas, protested that he would pay
no attention to any passports which did not come direct from
Madrid. If the Cardinal Infant were to go down on his knees
to him on behalf of the Dutch fishermen, he would not spare
a single herring-boat. He repudiated the authority of the
Brussels Government to send him such orders on such a
subject. 2
If this easy and pre-arranged triumph was not to be gained,
it was hard to say what was to be done with the great ship-
money fleet of which Northumberland once more
Northum- '
beriands took the command. Charles could not possibly
know for some months to come whether he was to
be at war or not, and there were no signs that either a French
or a Spanish navy was inclined to test his pretensions in the
Channel. It was not till the beginning of June that Northum-
berland joined the fleet. After convoying the Elector Palatine
and Prince Rupert to Holland, he sailed down the Channel, to
meet with nothing but a few poor fishermen between Dover and
the Land's End. He himself felt bitterly the contrast between
promise and performance. "No man," he wrote, "was ever
1 Boswell to Windebank, Feb. 28, ^. P. Holland.
* Windebank to Boswell, March 27 ; Boswell to Gerbier, April 24 ;
Boswell to Windebank, May 13, May 21 ; Windebank to Boswell,
June 1.5, .S". P. Holland. Gerbier to Windebank, April 22, 29 ; Gerbier
to Boswe-1, May 9, S. P. Flanders.
220 THIRD WRTT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXXII.
more desirous of a change than I am to be quit of my being in a
condition where I see I can neither do service nor gain credit." '
It would be well for Northumberland if he did not actually
lose credit by his employment. When it was known that no
, , passports would be granted at Brussels, Northumber-
Auempt to land was ordered to make an attempt to induce the
filhYng";- Dutch fishermen to take the licences without them.
He was to send a merchant ship, lest the King's flag
should be exposed to the disgrace of a refusal, as Charles, in
the uncertain state of his relations with the continental powers,
was unwilling to employ force. 2 Captain Fielding was accord-
ingly despatched to the fishing boats, to offer them the King's
protection against the Dunkirk privateers if they would only
consent to take the licences.
Fielding carried out his orders. He found six or seven
hundred boats busy with the fishery off Buchan Ness. He
found too, that they were guarded by twenty-three
The licences men of war of their own country. The Dutch
admiral absolutely refused to allow him even to speak
to a single fisherman. 3
The story of course got abroad. Windebank at once sent
orders to the fleet to explain it away. By the King's special
command he directed Northumberland to give out
be con'trZ l that Fielding had not been sent to offer licences at
all He was to say that the purpose of his mission
had been to give notice to the fishermen 'of the forces
prepared by the Dunkirkers to intercept them in their return,
and to offer them his Majesty's protection, but no licences ; '
the story 'of the licences being to be cried down, and the
other to be avowed and reported through the whole fleet.
" To which purpose," continued Windebank, " your lordship
is to instruct Captain Fielding, whom his Majesty understands
to have been too free in spreading the former report, and there-
fore he is to be admonished to be more reserved hereafter in
1 Northumberland to Roe, Aug. 6, S. P. Dom. ccclxv. 28.
1 Windebank to Northumberland, July 3, 6, ibid, ccclxiii. ai, 41.
1 Fie.ding to Windebank, July 24, S. P. Dom. ccclxiv. 45.
1637 UNPARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT. 221
such great services, and in the meantime to make reparation by
divulging this, and suppressing the former." '
This, then, was the king who was to free the English
monarchy from the conditions and restraints of subjects.
Appearances Outwardly all might yet seem to be well with him.
f success. Eight vears> to use t h e words of that patient and
diligent investigator whose labours have done so much to
facilitate the task of the historian, 2 " had elapsed since a Par-
liament had been called together, and there seemed no reason
to suppose that any person of the then present generation
would ever hear ' that noise,' to use the language of Arch-
bishop Laud, again. The King was in the prime of life, in
excellent health, devoted to active exercise in the open air,
happy in his domestic relations, attentive to business, and as
attached to the new thorough principles of government as even
Laud or Wentworth, or the most devoted of their adherents.
Time and chance, of course, happen to all men, but so far as
the King was concerned, there seemed no probability of any
change for many years to come. The Queen's accouchement
had added a fifth to the arrows in the royal quiver. Two sons
and three daughters 3 set at defiance all ordinary chances in
reference to the succession, and the likelihood seemed to be
that long ere the father was called away, the eldest son, then in
his seventh year, would be out of tutelage, and that, on his
father's death, he would be fully competent to ascend the
throne, and carry on the government according to what would
then be regarded as the settled principles of the English
constitution.
" The new mode of government was of that kind which is
the simplest in the world. It was the English consti-
Nature of , , i ,
the govern- tution with that which is supposed to give it its life
and vigour the Parliament struck out. The Coun-
cil took its place, and, with something like a show of following
1 Windebank to Fogg, Aug. 10 ; Windebank to Northumberland,
Aug. 10, ibid, ccclxv. 51, 53.
2 Bruce, Calettdar of Domestic State Papers, 1636-7. Preface,!.
* Charles, May 29, 1630; Mary, Nov. 4, 1631 ; James, Oct. 13,
1633 ; Elizabeth, Jan. 28, 1635 ; Anne, March 17, 1637.
222 THIRD WRIT OF SHIP-MONEY. CH. LXXXII.
former precedents, the Council really regulated all things
according to its own notions of right and wrong. In cases of
importance, or cases in which the question at issue affected the
interests of the State, the King was always ready to give their
sittings and determinations the sanction of his presence and
authority, and ... he was no silent member of what was then
the only public deliberative body in matters of government On
the contrary, he held and controlled its decisions with a lofty
regal peremptoriness which rebuked all doubt and negatived
the possibility of opposition.
" There is in this respect a very great difference between
the Charles of the first few years of his reign and the Charles
Charles and of 1637. Under Buckingham, the favourite was
his ministers, everything . he governed alone ; the King scarcely
intermeddled with business, was seldom heard of in such
matters, and still more seldom seen. ! . . . Since Buckingham's
death, King Charles had become well versed in business, was
informed of whatever was going on, attended meetings even of
committees, directed their decisions, and when not present,
was consulted in all important matters. The Government was
thus really and truly his, not by a complimentary official
figment, but by actual interference with its management and
direction."
That government was now, to all appearance, at its height
of power. The declaration of the judges seemed to have
given Charles for ever the legal possession of resources which
placed him above all necessity of submitting his will to
restraint. In reality that declaration was the signal of his
decline. It flashed in the faces of his subjects the truth
which in their enduring loyalty they had been slow to learn
the truth that their property, their rights and liberties had
passed into the keeping of a single man. That man was not
indeed uninfluenced by nobler aims. He wished his people
to be happy and peaceful, above all to be orderly and virtuous
1 I omit here "Laud, on the contrary, ruled the country through and
by the King," because it implies that Laud bore sway in Civil affair.5 to a
greater extent than he did. There were plainly other influences at work
to which Charles succumbed as he did not in Buckingham's time.
THE TURN OF THE TIDE. 223
under his sway. But he had neither intellectual insight nor
force of character to enable him to carry out his ideal into
practice. Ever, with him. large designs were followed by
paltry performances ; irritating interference with the habits and
opinions of his subjects led to no result worthy of the effort
His was a government not of fierce tyranny, but of petty
annoyance. It was becoming every year not more odious, but
more contemptible. It inspired no one with respect, and very
few with goodwill. In 1636 the silence of the crowds which
witnessed the King's entry into Oxford had given evidence of
the isolation in which he stood. In 1637 the shouts of anger
and derision in Palace Yard and in the streets of Edinburgh
were the precursors of change, the voices which ushered in the
coming revolution.
224
CHAPTER LXXXIII.
THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION.
IN the summer of 1637 more than eight years had passed away
since a Parliament had met at Westminster. During those years,
in spite of threats of war which Charles had neither
The result of the nerve nor the means to carry out, peace had
o'f S Char!e?s been maintained, and with the maintenance of peace
nile - the material prosperity of the country had been largely
on the increase. The higher aspirations of the nation remained
unsatisfied. England had been without a Government, in the
best sense of the word, as truly as she had been without a
Parliament. That pacification of hostile ecclesiastical parties
which Charles had undertaken to bring about was farther off
than when the doors closed upon the Commons after the last
stormy meeting in 1629. The attempt to restore harmony to
the Church by silencing Puritan doctrine, and by
caulfficui- the revival of obsolete ceremonies, had only served
to embitter still more that spirit of opposition which
was bitter enough already. The enforced observance of rites
enjoined by external authority had not as yet produced a temper
of acquiescence. Yet it was in the firm belief that in this way
alone could the spiritual welfare of the nation be promoted,
that men like Laud and Wren were labouring against the stream
which threatened to sweep them away. "The Fountain of
holiness," wrote Wren, who as Bishop of Norwich
Wren s view *
of the point found himself in charge of one of the most Puritan
districts in England, "is the Holy Spirit, God
blessed for ever. God the Holy Ghost breathes not but in his
Holy Catholic Church. The Holy Church subsists not with-
1637 UNIFORMITY AND UNITY. 225
out the communion of saints no communion with tnem
without union among ourselves that union impossible unless
we preserve a uniformity for doctrine and a uniformity for
discipline." l
What Laud and Wren were unable to perceive was that
their attempt to reach unity through uniformity was a sign of
Unity to be weakness. They seized upon the bodies of men
ihTou|h because they were unable to reach their hearts,
uniformity. Yet, as far as could be judged by the avowed eccle-
siastical literature of the day, they were everywhere triumphant.
White and Dow, Heylyn and Shelford, poured forth
Ecclesiasti- ,. .... .......
cai litera- quarto after quarto in defence of the festive character
of the Lord's Day, or of the new position assigned
to the communion-table. No writer who thought it sinful to
shoot at the butts on Sunday or to kneel at the reception of
the communion was permitted to make himself heard. Yet, as
might have been expected, indignation found a vent. There
were presses in Holland which would print anything
Theun- . T , r . ., J ,
licensed sent to them ; presses too in London itself which
did their work in secret The risk to which the
authors of unlicensed books were exposed imparted acrimony
1 Wren to (?), May 27, Tanner MSS. Ixviii. fol. 92. The
following passage from the same letter shows how Wren was prepared to
carry out his principles in detail : " Here I must be bold to say plainly
the breach of that unity and uniformity in the Church hath principally
been caused ... .by lectures and lecturers. . . . Now, therefore, for :he
advancing the holy discipline of the Church, and for preseiving uniformity
therein, I am resolved to let no man preach in any place where he is not
also charged with the cure ; thereby to put a straiter tie upon him to ob-
serve and justify the rites and ceremonies which the Church enjoineth ;
and I shall be very careful, if any man be found opposite or negligent in
the one, without any more ado to render him unfit and unworthy of the
other. For the preserving of unity of doctrine I dare promise myself
nothing where the preacher shall be forced to suit his business to the fancy
of his auditors, and to say nothing but what pleases them, at leastwise
nothing that may displease them ; and this needs he must do if his meuns
have not some competency in it, and if a competency, then so much the
worse if no certainty, but wholly depending on the will and pleasure of the
hearers."
VOL. VIII. Q
226 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIII.
to their style. Many a pamphlet, sharp and stinging, passed
rapidly and secretly from hand to hand. Laud found himself
the object of fierce and angry vituperation. No misstatement
was too gross, no charge too insulting, to be believed against a
man who refused to his adversaries all chance of speaking in
their own defence.
Laud knew no other course than to persist in the path
which he had hitherto followed. The terrors of the Star
Chamber and the High Commission must be evoked
solves to against the misleaders of opinion. Three pam-
phleteers William Prynne, Henry Burton, and John
Bastwick were selected for punishment.
Prynne's style of writing had not grown less bitter since
his exposure in the pillory in 1634. Under the title of A
1636. Divine Tragedy lately acted he clandestinely printed
*Dm'* a collection of examples of God's judgments upon
Tragedy. Sabbath-breakers. He told of the sudden deaths of
young men who had on that day amused themselves by ringing
a peal of bells, and of young women who had enjoyed a dance
on the same day. He went on to argue that this wickedness
was but the natural fruit of the King's Declaration of Sports,
and of other books which had been published by authority.
He attributed a fresh outbreak of the plague to the special sin
of Sabbath-breaking. In another pamphlet, called News from
Ipswich, he directed a violent attack upon Bishop Wren, after
yew* from which he proceeded to charge the bishops as a body
ipnmck. w j t } 1 suppressing preaching in order to pave the way
for the introduction of Popery. He called upon ' pious King
Charles ' to do justice on the whole episcopal order by which
he had been robbed of the love of God and of his people, and
which aimed at plucking the crown from his head, that they
might ' set it on their own ambitious pates.'
Burton was as outspoken as Prynne. On November 5,
1636, he preached two sermons which he afterwards pub-
Burton's Hshed under the title of For God and the King. In
these he atta cked the tables turned into altars, the
crucifixes set up, and the bowing towards the east,
with a fierce relentlessness which was certain to tell on the
1637 PRYNNE, BASTWICK, AND BURTON. 227
popular mind. The inference which would be widely drawn
was that these innovations being the work of the bishops, the
sooner their office was abolished the better it would be for the
nation.
The inference at which Burton arrived was the starting-
point of Bast wick. Born in Essex, and brought up, like so
Bastwick's many Essex men, in the straitest principles of
early hfe. Puritanism, he had, after a short sojourn at Em-
manuel College, the stronghold of Puritanism at Cambridge,
left England to serve as a soldier, probably in the Dutch army. 1
He afterwards studied medicine at Padua, and returned home
in 1623 to practise his profession at Colchester.
, l633 . Ten years later he published his Flagellum
His Fiagei- Pontifids in Holland. It was an argument in favour
lum Pontifi- J
ds. ofPresbyterianism. He was, in consequence, brought
jess. before the High Commission and sentenced to a
b ^ the'tiTh 5 ^ ne ^ J* 000 ^-' to exclusion from the practice of
commission, medicine, and to an imprisonment which was to last
till he saw fit to retract his opinions. 2
The Flagellum Pontifids was a staid production, unlikely to
inflame the minds even of those who were able to read the
The Apolo* Latin in which it was couched. Bastwick's next
eeticvs. book was the Apologeticus, more fiery in its tone,
but still shrouding its vehemence in Latin from the popular
eye. 3 At last he flung off all restraint, and struck fiercely at
his persecutors. The Litany of John Bastwick kept no quarter
, 637 with the bishops. "From plague, pestilence, and
The Litany, famine," he prayed, " from bishops, priests, and
deacons, good Lord, deliver us ! " The prelates, he said, were
the enemies of God and the King. They were the tail of the
Beast. They had opened ' the very schools to ungodliness and
unrighteousness, impiety and all manner of licentiousness.' The
Church was 'as full of ceremonies as a dog is full of fleas.'
" To speak the truth, such a multitude of trumperies and
1 This is nowhere stated ; but his constant use of the word " groll " as
a term of reproach indicates familiarity with the Dutch language,
2 Sentence, Feb. 12, 1635, 5. P. Dom. cclxi. 178.
Its first title is pc^< rvv rncdira>',
Q a
2*8 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIII.
grollish ' ceremonies are brought in by the prelates as all the
substance of religion is thrust out." Churchwardens were
ordered to inform 'about capping, ducking, standing, and
kneeling,' as well as to accuse persons wandering from their
own parishes in search of more palatable doctrine than was
to be found at home, and persons who met in private for
mutual edification and prayer. In Bastwick's eyes the eccle
siastical courts were altogether abominable. " I shall ever be
of this opinion," he wrote, " that there is never a one of the
prelates 1 courts but the wickedness of that alone and their
vassals in it is able to bring a continual and perpetual plague
upon the King's three dominions." All manner of wickedness
was there vendible, so that if men would but open their purses
' remission of sins and absolution, with a free immunity from
all dangers,' would be 'with facility granted them.' "Take
notice," he wrote in conclusion, " so far am I from flying or
fearing, as I resolve to make war against the Beast, and every
limb of Antichrist, all the days of my life. ... If I die in that
battle, so much the sooner 1 shall be sent in a char'ot of
triumph to heaven ; and when I come there, I will, with those
that are under the altar, cry, ' How long, Lord, holy and true,
dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood upon them that
dwell upon the earth ? ' "
On June 14 the three assailants of the bishops appeared
before the Star Chamber to answer to a charge of libel. Even
June 14. men wno were attached to the existing system of
The Star government long remembered with bitterness the
trials. scene which followed. When Prynne took his
place at the bar, Finch called upon the usher of the court to
hold back the locks with which he had done his best to cover
the scars left by the execution of his former sentence. " I had
thought," said the Chief Justice with a sneer, " Mr. Prynne
had no ears, but methinks he hath ears." The executioner
had dealt mercifully with him three years before, and there was
still a possibility of carrying out the sentence which Finch had
made up his mind to inflict. The three cases were practically
undefended. Burton's answer had been signed by his counsel,
' Dutch, 'grollig,' foolish.
#37 PRYNNE, BASTWICK, AND BURTON. 229
but was rejected by the court as irrelevant. The answers of
the other two were so violent that no lawyer could be induced
to sign them. The three accused persons said what they could,
but in the place in which they stood nothing that they could
say was likely to avail them. "There are some honourable
lords in this court," said Bastwick, his old military instincts
stirring strongly within him, "that have been forced out as
combatants in a single duel. 1 It is between the prelates and
us at this time as between two that have been appointed the
field ; the one, being a coward, goes to the magistrate, and by
virtue of his authority disarms the other of his weapons, and
gives him a bulrush, and then challenges him to fight If this
be not base cowardice, I know not what belongs to a soldier.
This is the case between the prelates and us ; they take away
our weapons our answers by virtue of your authority, by
which we should defend ourselves ; and yet they bid us fight.
My Lord, dolh not this savour of a base, cowardly spirit? I
know, my Lord, there is a decree gone forth for my -sentence
was passed long ago to cut off our ears."
The sentence was indeed a foregone conclusion. At Cot -
tington's motion the three accused men were condemned to
The sen- l se tn d r ears, to be fined 5,oooZ. apiece, and to be
tence. imprisoned for the remainder of their lives in the
Castles of Carnarvon, Launceston, and Lancaster, where, it
was fondly hoped, no breath of Puritan sympathy would reach
them more. Finch savagely added a wish that Prynne should
be branded on the cheeks with the letters S. L., as a Seditious
Libeller, and his suggestion was unanimously adopted. 2
The speech which Laud delivered in court was long and
argumentative. 3 The main charge which had been brought
Laud on his against him by the prisoners was that the cere-
defence, monies which he had enforced were innovations on
established usage. His answer was in effect that they were
not innovations on the established law. On many points of
1 The reference was to the Earl of Dorset, whose duel, when he was
Sir E. Sackville, with Lord Bruce is well known.
2 A brief relation, Harl. Misc. iv. 12.
1 Laud to Wentworth, June 28, Works, vii. 355.
230 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. Lxxxin.
detail he had far the better of the argument. The removal
of the communion-table to the east end he treated as a
mere matter of convenience, for the sake of decency and
order ; and he quoted triumphantly an expression of the Cal-
vinistic Bishop Davenant, " Tis ignorance to think that the
standing of the holy table there relishes of Popery." His own
practice of bowing he defended. " For my own part," he said,
" I take myself bound to worship with body as well as soul
whenever I come where God is worshipped ; and were this
kingdom such as would allow no holy table standing in its
proper place and such places some there are yet I would
worship God when I came into His house." He flatly denied
that he had compelled anyone to follow his example. " Yet,"
he said, " the Government is so moderate that no man is con-
strained, no man questioned, only religiously called upon
'Come, let us worship.'" True perhaps in the letter, this
defence was not true in spirit. Even if those cathedrals and
chapels, where the statutes inculcated the practice of bowing
upon entrance, had been left out of sight, there was an almost
irresistible influence exercised in favour of the general obser-
vance of the custom.
To the question of the King's jurisdiction in ecclesiastical
matters Laud answered with equal firmness. One of the
Oiestionof cnar g es brought against the Archbishop was that
episcopal he was undermining the Royal authority by laying
jurisdiction. . . .
claim to a Divine right for his own order. On this
point the speech was most emphatic. "Though our office,"
Laud said, " be from God and Christ immediately, yet may we
not exercise that power, either of order or jurisdiction, but as
God hath appointed us ; that is, not in his Majesty's or any
Christian king's kingdoms but by and under the power of the
King given us so to do." So pleased was Charles with the lan-
guage of the Archbishop that he ordered the immediate pub-
lication of his speech. He also referred to the judges the
question whether the bishops had infringed on his
July i. .... ...
prerogative by issuing processes in their own names,
and the judges unanimously decided that they had not 1
1 ftymer, xx. 143, 156.
1637 THE PILLORY AT WESTMINSTER. 231
Whatever the judges might say they could not meet the
rising feeling that the power of the Crown was being placed at
Tune o tne disposal f a sm gl e ecclesiastical party. Large
Execution of numbers of Englishmen leapt to the conclusion
of e the n star e that the object of that party was the restoration ot
chamber. tne p apa i authority. The three years which had
just gone by the years of the metropolitical visitation had
effected a great change in the temper of the nation. In 1634,
as far as any evidence has reached us, Prynne had suffered
uncheered by any sign of sympathy. There was no lack of
sympathy now. As he stepped forth, with Burton and Bast-
wick by his side, on his way to the place where the sentence
of the Star Chamber was to be carried out, he found the path
strewed with herbs and flowers. Bastwick was the first to
mount the scaffold. He was quickly followed by his wife.
She kissed him on his ears and mouth. The crowd set up
an admiring shout. " Farewell, my dearest," said her husband
as she turned to descend, " be of good comfort ; I am nothing
dismayed."
For two hours the three stood pilloried, conversing freely
with the bystanders. " The first occasion of my trouble," said
Bastwick, " was by the prelates, for writing a book against the
Pope, and the Pope of Canterbury said I wrote against him,
and therefore questioned me ; but if the presses were as open
to us as formerly they have been, we should scatter his kingdom
about his ears." Prynne characteristically employed his time
in explaining that his sentence was not warranted by precedent.
The real cause of his coming there, he said, was his refusal to
acknowledge that the prelates held their office by Divine right.
He was ready to argue the question against all comers, and, if
he did not make his point good, to be ' hanged at the Hall
Gate.' Once more the people shouted applaudingly. Burton
followed, thanking God that he had enabled him thus to suffer.
Even the rough men whose duty it was to superintend the
execution were melted to pity, and sought to alleviate his
suffering by placing a stone to ease the weight of the pillory on
his neck. His wife sent him a message that 'she was more
cheerful of that ' day than of her wedding-day.' " Sir," called
232 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION CH. Lxxxm,
out a woman in the crowd, "every Christian is not worthy
of the honour which the Lord hath cast on you this day."
" Alas ! " replied Burton, " who is worthy of the least mercy ?
But it is His gracious favour and free gift to account us
worthy in the behalf of Christ to suffer anything for His
sake." 1
At last the time arrived for sharper suffering. "After, two
hours," wrote a collector of news, " the hangman began to cut
off the ears of Mr. Burton, and at the cutting of each ear there
was such a roaring as if every one of them had at the same
instant lost an ear." Bastwick, making use of his surgical
knowledge, instructed the executioner how ' to cut off his ears
quickly and very close, that he might come there no more.'
" The hangman," wrote one who recorded the scene, " burnt
Prynne in both the cheeks, and, as I hear, because he burnt
one cheek with a letter the wrong way, he burnt that again ;
presently a surgeon clapped on a plaster to take out the fire.
The hangman hewed off Prynne's ears very scurvily, which put
him to much pain ; and after he stood long in the pillory
before his head could be got out, but that was a chance." 2
Amongst the crowd not all were on Prynne's side. "The
humours of the people were various ; some wept, some laughed,
and some were very reserved." A story got about which,
whether it were true or false, was certain to be eagerly credited,
that ' a Popish fellow told some of those which wept that, if
so be they would turn Catholics, they need fear none of this
punishment.' On his way back to prison Prynne composed a
Latin distich, in which he interpreted the S L which he now
bore indelibly on his cheeks as Stigmata Laudis, the Scars of
Laud. 3
Well might Laud come to the conclusion that his purposes
Laud's dis- were hindered rather than furthered by such an ex-
otisfaction. hibltion. " What say you," he wrote to Wentworth,
" that Prynne and his fellows should be suffered to talk what
1 Harl. Mist. iv. 19.
2 Not ' a shame,' as printed by Mr. Bruce.
' Roisingham's News-Letter, July 6. Doeuments relating to Frynne*
Camd. Soc. 86.
A TRIUMPHAL PROGRESS. 233
they pleased while they stood in the pillory?" 1 Even here
his policy of the enforcement of silence had broken down
The very executioners had turned against him.
The manifestation of popular feeling round the scaffold was
icpeated when the prisoners were led out of London to their
July 27. far-distant dungeons. Of Bastwick's journey, indeed,
Prynne's no account has reached us. Prynne, as he passed
triumphal ' * r
progress. along the Northern Road, was greeted with the
loudest declarations of sympathy, which were at the same time
declarations of hostility to Laud. At Barnet friendly hands
prepared for him a dinner. At St. Alban's six or seven of the
townsmen joined him at supper with hospitable greeting. At
Coventry he was visited by one of the aldermen. At Chester
he became an object of interest to the townsmen.
July 28. J
When Burton left London by the Western Road,
crowds joined in shouting ' God bless you ! ' as he passed with
his gaolers. 2
The conditions under which the three were imprisoned were
hard enough. The use of pen and ink was strictly prohibited.
August. No book was allowed to enter the cells of the prisoners
Conditions except ' the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and
or imprison- r
n.ent. such other canonical books as were consonant to
the religion professed in the Church of England.' Anxious as
the Privy Council was for the orthodoxy of the prisoners, it was
still more anxious that no voice of theirs should again be heard
to lead astray the silly sheep who were unable to distinguish
between the false shepherds and the true. Launceston and
Carnarvon and Lancaster were far enough removed from the
centres of population, but the keepers reported that they were
unable to make adequate provision for the isolation of their
charges from the outer world. Fresh orders were therefore
issued to transfer the prisoners to still more inaccessible strong-
holds, where their persuasive tongues might find no echo.
Bastwick was to be immured in a fort in the Scilly Isles. Bur-
ton was to be confined in Cornet Castle in Guernsey, Prynne in
1 Laud to Wentworth, Aug. 28, Strafford Letters, ii. 99.
2 Examinations of Maynard and Ingram, Sept. 22, S. P.
ccclxviii. 14.
234 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. Lxxxiit
Mont Orgueil in Jersey. The object of the Council was not
that they should be separated from the world, but that the
world should be separated from them. Burton and Bastwick
were married men ; and strict orders were given that their
wives should not be allowed to land in the islands in which
the prisoners were detained, lest they should ' be evil instru-
ments to scatter abroad their dangerous opinions and designs.' l
The three men, victims to Laud's terror rather than to his
hatred, were thus doomed, to all appearance, to a lifelong
seclusion from mankind. Other voices took up their
against tale. Libels picked up in the streets charged the
Archbishop with being the captain of the army of the
devil in his war against the saints. A copy of the Star Chamber
decree was nailed to a board. Its corners were cut off as the
ears of Laud's victims had been cut off at Westminster. A
broad ink-mark was drawn round his own name. An inscrip-
tion declared that " The man that puts the saints of God into
a pillory of wood stands here in a pillory of ink." 2
Laud could but press on to the end in the path on which
he had entered. The silence requisite for the success of his
scheme must be enforced still more strictly. There
measure* must be no weak concession, no idle folding of the
for ' hands whilst the enemy was on the alert. The policy
of ' Thorough ' must take its course. As far as statute law was
concerned, the English press was as free in the reign of Charles
as it is in the reign of Victoria. It was muzzled by a decree
of the Star Chamber, issued at the time when the throne of
Elizabeth was assailed by bitter and unscrupulous
b^decreT" attacks. That decree was now reinforced by another
en the press, ^jj mQre gj^p -phe num ber of printers authorised
to carry on their trade in London was to be reduced to twenty.
Even books formerly licensed were not to be republished with-
out a fresh examination. Any man not of the number of the
privileged twenty who ventured to print a book was ' to be set
in the pillory and whipped through the City of London.' 3
1 Documents relating to Prynne, Camrl. Soc. 62-69.
2 Laud to Wentworth, Aug. (?), Works, vii. 364..
1 Riunworth, ii. 450, App. 306. Lambe's List of Printers, July, 5". P.
Dom. ccclxiv. in.
1637 PURITANS AND CATHOLICS 235
The appetite for unlicensed literature was too strong to be
thus baulked. Clandestine presses continued to pour forth
Clandestine pamphlets, to be read by admiring and increasing
publications. crow ds. Laud's attempt to "silence his accusers only
added fresh zest to the banquet of libel and invective. The
decorous tones which issued from the licensed press to bewail
the folly and ignorance of the times convinced none who were
not convinced already.
Under no circumstances was this system of repression likely
to take permanent root in England. To have given it even
a temporary chance of success it must have been
the catho- applied fairly on the right hand as well as on the left.
The Catholic must suffer as well as the Puritan.
So much Laud clearly saw. He knew full well that the
charge brought against him of complicity with the Church of
Rome was entirely false ; and as he could not prove his Pro-
testantism by tenderness to the Puruans, the only way open to
him to convince the world that he was not a secret emissary of
the Pope was to persecute the members of the Papal Church.
For some time, therefore, he had been pleading earnestly with
the Council to take steps to limit the freedom of action recently
enjoyed by the Catholics.
One invincible stumbling-block stood in Laud's way.
Charles's support was not to be relied on for any persistent
Charles and course of policy. With no imaginative insight into the
the Puritans, condition of the world around him, he did not share
in Laud's prognostications of evil. Puritanism was not to him
a wolf held by the ears, but simply a troublesome and factious
spirit which needed to be kept down by sharp discipline, but
which was not likely to be really formidable. His fear
Charles and ... , ' .. J
the Catho- of danger from the Catholics was even less than his
fear of danger from the Puritans. To him they were
merely well-disposed, gentlemanly persons with improper no-
tions about some religious doctrines, and more especially with
some theoretical objections to the Royal supremacy, which were
not very likely to influence their practice. It never entered
his head that familiarity with such pleasant companions was the
most dangerous course which he could possibly pursue.
J 3 6 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIII;
The King's friendly intercourse with Panzani had been
continued with Con, the Scotchman who succeeded him as
Con in Ehg- Papal Agent at the Queen's Court Con dropped
!stnd - the subject of the reunion of the churches, which
had now served its purpose ; and if the negotiation for a modi-
fication of the oath of allegiance was still occasionally mentioned,
it was more for the sake of appearance than from any expecta-
tion that it would be really possible to come to an understanding
with the King on this subject. Charles was quite satisfied to
find in Con a well-informed and respectful man, ready to
discuss politics or theology without acrimony by the hour, and
to flatter him with assurances of the loyalty of his Catholic
subjects, without forgetting to point to the sad contrast exhi-
hibited by the stiff-necked and contemptuous Puritan.
Offence was taken at this unwise familiarity in quarters in
which ordinary Puritanism met with but little sympathy. At
A rij the festival of the Knights of the Garter the brilliant
Con at assembly was kept waiting for the commencement
of the service in the Royal Chapel till the King
had finished exhibiting his pictures to the representative of
the Pope. On another occasion, when the Court
was assembled to witness the leave-taking of the
French ambassador, Seneterre, the Privy Councillors occupied
their accustomed positions at the King's right hand, Laud, in
virtue of his archbishopric, standing next to the throne. The
Queen was on Charles's left, and next to her was Con. " Now,"
said a lady of the Court to the Scottish priest, " there is only a
step between the archbishop and you. Shake hands and agree
together.'' "Our Lord," answered Con significantly, "stands
with his arms open to receive all men into the bosom of the
Holy Church." 1
Panzani had striven in vain to win Charles to more than
well-bred friendliness. Con turned his attention to
anoNhe**' the Queen. It had never hitherto been possible to
Catholics. rouse her to more than spasmodic efforts even on
behalf of the Catholics. Averse to sustained exertion, and inter-
1 Con to Barberini, 3^", July \ , Add. MSB. 15,390, toi. 246, 346.
1637 THE QUEEN AND THE CATHOLICS. 237
vening only from some personal interest or momentary pique,
she had contented herself with the consciousness that the per-
secution under which the Catholics suffered had been gradually
relaxed. Con wished to make her an active agent in the pro-
pagation of the faith, and he was seconded by Walter Montague,
who had been recently allowed to return to England, though
he was received more warmly at Somerset House than at
Whitehall. 1 Between them they succeeded in securing the
support of the Queen for that work of individual proselytism
which was to supersede Panzani's fantastic scheme for the ab-
sorption of the Church of England. It is true that in the
actual work of gaining converts Henrietta Maria took but little
part ; but she showed a warm interest in the process, and she
prided herself in protecting the converts made by others. It
was her part to win from her fond husband, by arguments,
by prayers, if need be by tears, their release from the conse-
quences of a too open violation of the harsh laws which still
held their place on the statute-book, and which were supported
by a widely diffused public opinion. At one time she was
closeted every morning with Con in eager consultation over
the best means of swaying Charles's mind in favour of the
Catholics. 2
The protection of the Queen was invaluable to Con. For
1 The following sketch by Con of his first impressions of the Queen's
conduct is interesting : "Le attioni di S. M tk - sono piene d'incredibile
innocenza, .a tale che in presenza di forastieri si vergogna come zite'la. II
I'adre Filippo assevera che non ha peccato se non di omissione, di quali
egli e nemico grande, e non perdona alii corrotti di cuore. In fede b
peccatv, di carne non e mai tentata. Quando si confes;-a, e si communica,
applica tanto che fa stupir il confessore e tutti. Nelle sue camere di letto
nessuno puo entrare se non donne, con le quali si ritira qualche volta et
attende a cose leggiere, ma innocenti. Patisce qualche volta di malinconia,
et allora ama il silenzio. Quando sta afflitta ricorre con spirito a Dio.
Al future applica poco, confidata tutta nel Re. Bisogna che prema piu di
guadagnare li Ministri dello stato, de quali puo esser padrona volendo. A'
questo et altro servira la presenza del Montagu, da me solledtata giande-
mcnte." Con to Barberini, Aug. _, 1636, A'. O. Transcripts.
3 Con to Barberini, ^^,1637, Add. MSS. 15,390^0!. 213.
238 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. Lxxxnu
active energy he looked elsewhere. The soul of the proselytis-
ing movement was Mrs. Porter, the wife of that Endymion
Mrs. Porter's Porter who had been employed in so many secret
converts. missions by James and Charles. By her mother
she was a niece of Buckingham, and she had inherited the
quick decision and ,the prompt impetuosity of the splendid
favourite. One day she heard that her father, Lord Boteler,
was seriously ill. At once she drove down to his
March. J
Lord BO- country seat, hurried the old man into her coach,
and carried him up to London. She then brought
the priests around him, and was able, before he died, to
boast of him as a convert. Her triumph was the greater be-
cause her Protestant sister, Lady Newport, had also driven off
to secure the sick man, and had arrived at his house too late.
The next object of Mrs. Porter's attack was the Marchioness
of Hamilton, like herself, one of Buckingham's nieces. Lady
Lady Ham- Hamilton's bright beauty had not long since been the
iiton. theme of admiring tongues, which had celebrated her
gentleness of heart as equal to the attractions of her person. She
was now fading away under that wasting disease which carried
her off a few months later. In this condition she was peculiarly
susceptible to religious impressions, and she was plied with con-
troversial books till she was almost ready to surrender. Her
father, Lord Denbigh, 'a Puritan ass,' as Con contemptuously
called him, summoned the Bishop of Carlisle to his assistance.
The old argument that there was no safety in the next world
for those who died outside the pale of the Roman Church was
plentifully used. The bishop replied that if the lady remained
a Protestant he would be ready to pledge his soul for
her salvation.' "It will profit you little, my sister,"
sneered Mrs. Porter, "that this old man's soul should keep
company with yours in the Devil's house." Lady Hamilton's
conversion, however, was never openly avowed, either because,
as Mrs. Porter fancied, she shrank from giving pain to her
relations, or because, as is more probable, the influences of
her old faith were still living in her heart, and made themselves
1 ' Che mettera la sua anima per quella di lei.'
1637 LAUD AND THE CATHOLICS. 239
heard as soon as she was removed from the overpowering
presence of her impetuous cousin. 1
Other converts, ladies for the most part, followed in no in-
considerable numbers. At last the world was startled by the
Lady New- news that even Lady Newport had announced herself
port - a Catholic. In an unguarded moment she had un-
dertaken the part of a champion of Protestantism, for which
neither her temperament nor her knowledge fitted her. Once
engaged in argument with the priests, she was beaten from
point to point till she laid down her arms. Her husband, the
eldest son of the adulterous union between the Earl of Devon-
shire and Lady Rich, and thus the half-brother of Warwick
and Holland, was high in Charles's favour. As Master of the
Ordnance he held an important post in the service of the State.
A Protestant by position and from a sense of honour rather
than from a closely reasoned conviction, he felt his wife's change
of religion as a slur upon his own good name. Hurrying to
Lambeth, he adjured Laud to punish the instruments
P n app^u of his misfortune. Together with Con he named
to Laud. \v a i ter Montague and Sir Toby Matthew, though it
would seem that the two latter had no part in the affair. Laud
was eager enough to do as Newport wished. On the next
Oct. 22. council-day he spoke his mind freely on the unusual
^"chatthe f avours accorded to the Catholics, and begged the
Council. King to forbid Montague's access to Court, and to
allow proceedings to be taken against him in the High Com-
mission. He knew well that he would himself be held account-
able for these defections from the English Church. This time
it seemed as if he would have his way. Charles expressed his
displeasure at what had occurred, and declared his intention of
providing a remedy. Laud, however, had counted without the
Queen. Con had urged her to stand up stoutly for
Con applies , ,. . ,,,. TT . , ,
to the her religion. When once Henrietta Maria was really
Queen. interested in a cause, difficulty and danger only pro-
duced on her an exhilarating effect. The language held by
Laud in the Council was reported to her almost immediately
' Con to Barbermi, Oct. , Add. MSS. 15,39x1, fol. 453.
240 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIK.
In the evening, when the King visited her in her apartments,
she spoke her mind freely to him of the insolence of the Arch-
bishop. Charles could not make up his mind to fly in his wife's
face. " I doubt not," wrote Laud to Wentworth, after recounting
what had taken place, " but I have enemies enough to make
use of this. But, howsoever, I must bear it, and get out of the
briars as I can. Indeed, my lord, I have a very hard task, and
God, I beseech him, make me good corn, for I am between
two great factions, very like corn between two mill-stones." l
In his distress Laud appealed to the King. Charles re-
commended him to seek out the Queen. " You will find my
wife reasonable," he said He did not see that his
Laud s ap-
peal to the w ife had made herself the centre of the opposition
.of which Laud complained. The Archbishop replied
by proposing in full Council that her chapel at Somerset
House, as well as the chapels of the ambassadors, should be
closed against the entrance of English subjects. His proposal
received warm support, and orders were given for the prepara-
tion of a proclamation against the. Catholics.
Con was warned of what had happened by his friends in
the Council, and the Queen was. warned by Con. Henrietta
The Queen's Maria took up the quarrel so warmly that Con be-
displeasure. SOU ght her to moderate her excitement. She felt
that in defending the liberty of her chapel she was warding off
insult from herself.
Charles tried to effect a compromise with his wife. He
would leave Somerset House alone ; but he insisted that some-
thing must be done with the chapels of the ambas-
November.
Threatened sadors. Ofiate, the Spanish Ambassador, who since
Ee^ftack'by his arrival in England had been making himself as
Sueen" d the disagreeable as he possibly could, had lately given
offence by announcing that he would build a larger
November, t j ian tne Q ueen herself could boast of. A pro-
clamation therefore there must be. Charles, however, did his
1 Con to Barbjrini, Oct. 2 , Add. MSS. 15,390, fol. 461. Laud's
Diary, Oct. 22. Laud to Wentworth, Nov. i, Works, iii. 229, vii. 378.
Garrard to Wentworth, Nov. 9, Straffoi d Letters, ii. 128.
1 637 THE QUEEN'S TRIUMPH. 241
best to explain it away. * This sort of thing," he assured Con,
" is done every year. No one would say a word against it if
you would let my wite alone." Con had no intention of letting
her alone. Her new position of protectress of her Church in
England flattered her vanity. Her chapel was thronged with
worshippers. The Holy Sacrament was on the altar till noon,
to satisfy the devotion of the multitude of communicants. On
festivals nine masses were celebrated in the course of the morn-
ing. The Queen strove hard to induce the King to refrain from
issuing any proclamation at all. It was a struggle for influence
between her and Laud, and she threw herself into it with all
the energy of which she was capable. To his astonishment,
Con found himself growing in favour even with men who were
known as Puritans, as soon as he measured his strength with the
man whom they most abhorred. He at least, they said, professed
his belief openly, which was more than could be said of Laud. l
All through the month of November the struggle lasted.
It was not till December that Con learnt that orders had been
D secretly given for the issue of the proclamation. He
again begged Charles to withdraw it, and Charles
answered that it was merely directed against the scandal given
by indiscreet Catholics. " With your good leave," he said, "I
wish to show that I am of the religion which I profess. . . .
Everyone ought to know that the quiet which the Catholics
enjoy is derived from my clemency. It is necessary to remind
them that they live in England, not in Rome." Con tried to
irritate him against Laud. He replied that he was following
the advice of the whole Council, not that of Laud alone. The
proclamation, he added, would be moderate enough. In fact,
as Con afterwards learnt, Charles had promised his wife to omit
anything to which she might take exception. So complete was
the Queen's triumph that she even consented to admit Laud to
her presence, and to extend to him some qualified tokens of
her favour. 2
1 Con to Barberini, Nov. ^ , Add. MSS. 15,390, fol. 469, 476.
g
2 Ibid. Dec. , ibid. fol. 498. Laud's Diary, Dec. 12, Works, iii. 230,
VOL, VIIL R
342 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIII.
Thus manipulated, the proclamation was at last issued on
December 20. In its final shape it could hardly give offence
Dec. o. to anyone. Even Con described it as ' so mild as to
issue of the seem rather a paternal admonition to the Catholics
proclama- *
tion. than a menace.' The Puritans, he added, were of
the same opinion. In fact> it contained nothing more than a
threat that those who persisted in withdrawing his Majesty's
subjects from the Church of England would do so ' under pain
of the several punishments ' provided by the law, and that
all who gave scandal by the celebration of masses would
be punished according to their offence. No definition was
given of the amount of notoriety which was to constitute
scandal. '
Gentle as the admonition was, Henrietta Maria could not
resist the temptation to treat it with contempt. On Christmas
Dec. 25. Day, by her special orders, Lady Newport and the
The mass at other recent converts were marshalled to receive the
the Queens
chapel. communion in a body at Somerset House. As soon
as the Queen returned to her apartments she called Con to her
side. "You have now seen," she said to him triumphantly,
"what has come of the proclamation." 2
The Queen's open defiance of the proclamation gave the
tone to every priest in England. Never were masses more
publicly celebrated in the ambassadors' chapels, or
The procla- "
mation de- with less concealment in the houses of the Catholic
laity. " Before you came," said Lady Arundel to Con,
1638. " I would not for a million have entertained a priest at
June. m y table, and now you see how common a thing it
is." The proclamation, in fact, had been merely wrung from
Charles by Laud's insistance, supported by the special annoy-
ance caused by the bravado of the Spanish Ambassador. He
was too sure of his own position, too blind to the real dangers by
which it was surrounded, to sympathise with Laud's perception
of the risk which he would incur by holding the balance uneven
between the Puritans and the Catholics. "The Archbishop,"
1 Proclamation, Dec. 20, Rymer, xx. 180.
2 Con to Barberini, ^~ 9 , Add. MSS. 15,391, foL I.
1638 THE CATHOLIC CONVERTS. 243
he said to Con, " is a very henest man, but he wants to have
everything his own way." l
There is no reason to regret that Laud did not in this case
have his way. The danger from Rome was less serious than
Amount of ^ seemed. The bait held out by the Papal clergy
danger. appealed to the lower and more selfish side of hu-
man nature. Fantastic speculators like Sir Kenelm Digby, witty
intriguers like Walter Montague, brought no real strength to
the cause which they espoused ; whilst the gay Court ladies,
whose life had hitherto been passed in a round of amusement,
were personally the better by submitting to a sterner discipline
than any which they had hitherto known. The arguments by
which they had been moved appealed to motives too low to
exercise any attractive force over the real leaders of the age, of
to be otherwise than repulsive to the sense of honour which was
the common property of English gentlemen.
Even such a man, for instance, as William Cavendish, Earl
of Newcastle, was entirely beyond the reach of Con. In the
The Earl of summer of 1638 he was selected by Charles to be
Newcastle, foe governor of his eldest son. " He was a fine gen-
tleman," wrote Clarendon, who knew him well ; " active and
full of courage, and most accomplished in those qualities of
horsemanship, dancing, and fencing which accompany a good
breeding, in which his delight was. Besides that, he was
amorous in poetry and music, to which he indulged the greatest
part of his time. . . . He loved monarchy, as it was the founda-
tion of his own greatness ; and the Church, as it was constituted
for the splendour and security of the Crown ; and religion, as
1 Con to Barberini, June -, July , 1638, Add. MSS. fol. 164, 204.
Laud's bewilderment at the charge brought against him of being secretly
a Roman Catholic is well expressed by some words which he made use of
nearly two years previously. " Because," he said, " he strove to maintain
the old orders of the Church, the common people, who were enemies to all
order and government, proclaimed him a Papist ; but (if he had been one)
he had had reason enough besides his ill-usage he had when he had no
friend at Court but the King to have left the Church and have gone
beyond seas." Charles Lewis to Elizabeth, May 31, 1636, Forster MSS.
in the South Kensington Museum.
. 2
244 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIII.
it cherished and maintained that order and obedience that was
necessary to both, without any other passion for the particular
opinions which were grown up in it and distinguished it into
parties, than as he detested whatsoever was like to disturb
the public peace." l Con's report of Newcastle tallies almost
exactly with that of the English historian. " In matters of
religion," he wrote, " the Earl is too indifferent. He hates the
Puritans, he laughs at the Protestants, and has little confidence
in the Catholics. In speaking with him, therefore, I have been
obliged to touch upon first principles, and to bring him to the
axiom that in things doubtful the safer part is to be chosen." 2
It was to no purpose that the temptation was held out to a
man like Newcastle. His careless, worldly temper gave as little
hold to Con as the higher virtue of a nobler nature.
Enough was, however, done to alarm the English Pro-
testants. The charge, indeed, which a later age has to bring
Engiuh feel- against Charles is not that he abstained from per-
!he c?hoiic secuting the Catholics, but that he failed to give fair
eonversions. pi a y to the diverse elements of which the English
Church was compounded. Whilst Catholic books passed from
hand to hand, Puritanism was an object of derision to all who
took their tone from Whitehall, and of stern repression in the ec-
clesiastical courts. Men who had no sympathy with Calvinistic
dogmatism were attracted by that stern morality which rebuked
the solemn trifling which was the atmosphere of Charles's
Court
To the growing feeling of dissatisfaction Milton gave ex-
pression in that high satire which bursts forth, as if from some
Milton's suddenly raised volcano, out of the smooth and grace-
Lyddas. f u \ lamentations of the Lyridas. Nothing in Milton's
past life gave warning of the intensity of his scorn Nothing
in the subject which he had chosen invited him to check the
flow of his private grief that he might bewail the public sorrows
of his time. Yet from these public sorrows he could not avert
his gaze. As it had been with Dante, the poet of medieval
1 Clarendon* viii. 82.
4 Con to Barberini, Sept. 7 , Add, MSS. 15,391, fol. 235.
1637 MILTON'S ' LYCIDAS? 245
Catholicism, so was it with the man who was training himself
to be one day the poet of English Puritanism. Not alone the
living interest in the joys and sorrows of the great world around
him, but even the mere official acquaintance with the dry details
of that public business, by means of which rulers attempt, if they
rise at all to the height of their duty, to increase those joys and
to alleviate those sorrows, were in time to strengthen the Eng-
lishman, as they had strengthened the great Italian, to seek for
consolation in a serener and purer atmosphere than that in
which the best and wisest of statesmen must be content to work.
Milton had not as yet had any close insight into the difficulties
of government. He saw the evil ; he could not descry the
hindrances to good. Before the eye of his imagination rose the
Apostle Peter, mournfully addressing the dead Lycidas, lost too
early to earthly service. The indignant poet cannot choose
but tell how ' the pilot of the Galilean lake '
Shook his mitred locks, and stern bespake,
' How well would I have spared for thee, young swain,
Enow of such as for their bellies' sake
Creep and intrude, and climb into the fold !
Of other care they little reckoning make,
Than how to scramble at the shearers' feast
And shove away the worthy bidden guest.
Blind mouths ! that scarce themselves know how to hold
A sheep hook, or have learnt aught else the least
That to the faithful herdsman's art belongs,
What recks it them ? What need they ? They are sped,
And when they list their lean and flashy songs
Grate on their scrannel pipes of wretched straw.
The hungry sheep look up and arc not fed,
But swoln with wind, and the rank mist they draw
Rot inwardly, and foul contagion spread,
Besides what the grim wolf with privy paw
Daily devours apace and nothing said."
Milton's indignation was not as the indignation of Prynne
or Bastwick. He did not approach the Church question from
, the ceremonial side. He did not as yet care to ask
Character of J
Milton's in- whether the Church ought to be Episcopalian or
Presbyterian. There is still a touch of the poet of
// Penseroso and of the Elegy on Bishop Andrewes in the
246 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. Lxxxiil.
' mitred locks ' of Peter. He is kindled to wrath by the moral
results of Laud's discipline results which he doubtless exag-
gerated, but which were certainly not entirely imaginary. He
saw that, whether Laud was consciously tending towards the
Roman Church or not, his superabundant care for the externals
of religion was eating the heart out of English Protestantism.
It invited the allegiance of men to whom nothing was easier
than to assume a posture or to clothe themselves in a vestment.
It repelled the allegiance of men who saw in that posture or
that vestment a token of the subordination to external forms of
the spiritual life itself.
Milton did more than denounce the system which he hated
so thoroughly. He predicted its speedy overthrow. He an-
nounced that
That two-handed engine at the door
Stands ready to smite once and smite no more.
The prophecy was doubtless intentionally left in vague and
mysterious outline, but its general intention was unmistakable. 1
Milton's voice expressed the deepest feelings of the nation.
Slowly and reluctantly the generation of serious Englishmen
6 now advancing towards middle age was coming to
John Hutch- the conclusion that the overthrow of the Laudian
system was the one thing necessary for the restora-
tion of a healthy spiritual life. The feeling was all the stronger
1 It is impossible to be dogmatical on the precise meaning of the words,
but the interpretation of its referring to the two Houses of Parliament
cannot be right. Not only was an irr peaching Parliament out of the range
of probability in 1637, but the engine was to be held by two hands, not to
be two engines held by one. The idea of the axe laid to the root of the
tree seems most natural. Professor Masson says {Milton's Works, iii. 455)
that the engine here ' is at the door of an edifice, not at the root of a tree.'
Milton, however, may have meant to mingle the idea of smiting the system
with the idea of smiting the persons who supported it. He may not have
wished to be too definite, and the expression ' blind mouths ' shows that
we must not look for rigid consistency. Perhaps, too, he was thinking in
an indistinct way of the iron flail with which Talus stormed the castle of
the Lady Munera, and wished to intensify the crushing nature of the blow
by turning the one-handed weapon of Spenser into a two-handed engine.
.6^8 JOHN HUTCHINSON. 247
because all moral earnestness was repelled by the loose follies
of the Court. The growth of this feeling may be traced in
the career of John Hutchinson, whose character has been por-
trayed by his widow, under the mellowing light of wifely affec-
tion. He was educated at Peter House, the college of Cosin
and Crashaw, the college which, more than any other, attempted
to exorcise the spirit of Puritanism. Yet he was able to boast
that, after five years, he came away untainted with the prin-
ciples or practices of the followers of Laud. On the other
hand, he did not come away with any confirmed dislike of the
Church in which those principles and practices had taken root.
He was ' not yet enlightened to discern the spring of them in
the rites and usages of the English Church.' His was the Puri-
tanism of the polished and practical country gentleman, versed
from his youth up in the conduct of business, and accustomed
to conduct it with a strict but not ungraceful morality, which
left room for the ornaments and enjoyments of life. At college
'he kept not company with any of the vain young persons, but
with the graver men and those by whose conversation he mi 6 ht
gain improvement. . . . For his exercise he practised tennis,
and played admirably well at it ; for his diversion he chose
music, and got a very good hand, which afterwards he improved
to a very good mastery on the viol.' He danced and vaulted
with grace and agility, studied eagerly, learning being regarded
by him ' as a handmaid to devotion and as a great improver of
natural reason.' His choice of the decorations of life was
made under a sense of serious self-restraint. " In those things
that were of mere pleasure he loved not to aim at that he could
not attain ; he would rather wear clothes absolutely plain than
pretend to gallantry, and would rather choose to have none
than mean jewels or pictures and such other things as were not
of absolute necessity. . . . His whole life was the rule of tem-
perance in meat, drink, apparel, pleasure, and all those things
that may be lawfully enjoyed, and herein his temperance was
more excellent than in others, in whom it is not so much a
virtue, but proceeds from want of appetite or gust of pleasure ;
in him it was a true, wise, and religious government of the de-
sire and delight he took in the things that he enjoyed. He
$48 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIII.
had a certain activity of spirit which could never endure idle-
ness either in himself or others, and that made him eager for
the time he indulged it, as well in pleasure as in business ;
indeed, though in youth he exercised innocent sports a little
while, yet afterwards his business was his pleasure. But how
intent soever he were in anything, how much soever it delighted
him, he could freely and easily cast it away when God called
him to something else. He had as much modesty as could
consist with a true virtuous assurance, and hated an impudent
person. Neither in youth nor in riper age could the most fair
or enticing women ever draw him into unnecessary familiarity
or vain converse or dalliance with them, yet he despised nothing
of the female sex but their follies and vanities ; wise and
virtuous women he loved, and delighted in all pure, holy, and
unblamable conversation with them, but so as never to excite
scandal or temptation. Scurrilous discourse even among men
he abhorred ; and though he sometimes took pleasure in wit
and mirth, yet that which was mixed with impurity he never
would endure. The heat of his youth a little inclined him to
the passion of anger, and the goodness of his nature to those
of love and grief; but reason was never dethroned by them,
but continued governor and moderator of his soul."
Such was the character for Hutchinson was but a type
of a large section of society of the noblest class of English
Hutchinson Puritans, of men who possessed their souls in pati-
not^stPuri- ence . uttering no cry of scorn or anger. It was the
tanism. steady and persistent refusal of these men to coun-
tenance the Court and its ways which made the opposition of
such as Prynne and Bastwick really formidable, and which
gave weight to the forlorn hopes which from time to time dashed
themselves, apparently in vain, against the defences of the
Government.
Of such forlorn hopes there were enough and to spare. In
the winter of 1637 it was the turn of John Lilburne, a youth
1637. of twenty, who had just returned from Holland. A
i^bur^e's'' certam Chillington, accused of circulating Puritan
ca e - books printed beyond the sea, saved himself by
charging Lilburne with having them printed at Rotterdam.
.037 JOHN LILBURNE. 249
Lilburne was arrested and interrogated, but he absolutely denied
that he had had anything to do with Chillington's books.
When asked questions on more general matters, he refused to
answer. No one, he said, had a right to make him criminate
either himself or others. He was brought before the Star
Chamber, and ordered to take the usual oath that he would
answer truly to all questions that might be put to him. This
he steadily refused to do. He came of a sturdy and self-willed
race. His father was a Yorkshire gentleman, who was the last
man in England to compel the unwilling judges to allow him
to commit a lawsuit to the chances of trial by battle. 1 Of this
opinionativeness he had inherited his full share. In the course
of a stirring life he was never in accord with any Government,
and never missed an opportunity of making known to the
world the grievances which he entertained against every
Government The claim which he now made went far beyond
the doctrine ultimately accepted by English Courts that no man
may be compelled to criminate himself. He refused to swear
to answer truly to any questions of which he did not at the
time of his oath know the import a claim which, if admitted,
would make it impossible to cross-examine any witness what-
ever. Like all the courts, the Star Chamber was peculiarly
sensitive to any attack upon its rules, and especially upon the
system under which, for so many years, it had been in the habit
of procuring evidence from unwilling witnesses. Lilburne was
accordingly sentenced to be whipped from the Fleet
is carrfed" 06 to Palace Yard, and then to be placed in the pillory.
All along the Strand the lash descended on his back.
Smarting with pain, he was placed in the pillory. In spite of
his agony he exhorted the bystanders to resist the tyranny of
the bishops, and scattered amongst them a few copies of Bast-
wick's pamphlets which he had in his pockets. The Court of
Star Chamber was in session hard by, and an angry
His harsh . . " e '
imprison- order to gag him was issued at once. Another order
directed the Warden of the Fleet to place him in
irons on his return, and to keep him in solitary confinement
1 The King, however, refused to allow the combat to proceed. The
Case in 1818 did not proceed so far, as the demand was withdrawn.
250 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIII.
* where the basest and meanest sort of prisoners are used to be
put,' to prohibit his friends from visiting him or supplying him
with money. But for the persistent contrivance of his admirers
Lilburne would have been starved to death. The Warden held
that it was no part of his duty to supply the prisoners with
food. Those who had no money were accustomed to beg their
food from the charitable who passed the door ; but Lilburne
was debarred even from that wretched resource. The other
prisoners, half-starved and ragged as they were, entered into a
conspiracy in his favour. They shared their crusts and broken
victuals with him, in spite of blows and kicks from the turn-
keys. Sometimes this precarious aid failed, and on one occa-
sion the unfortunate man passed ten whole days without tasting
food. Yet, broken in health as he could not fail to be, his in-
domitable spirit held up, and he survived to unfold the horrors
of his prison house to sympathising ears. 1
It is the nature of a government like that of Laud to be
too readily terrified to take advantage of the real strength of
its position. Englishmen had not so changed since
Laud too __,... . . ...
easily fright- the days of Elizabeth as to be anxious to deliver
themselves over to be manipulated by a Prynne or a
Bastwick, or even by a Milton or a Hutchinson. There were
many thousands who still regarded with reverent admiration the
old Prayer Book, which they had learned to love as children.
There were probably many more thousands who had no wish
to see cakes and ale banished from life. The most popular
George verse-writer of the day was George Wither, and
wither. Wither was neither a Laudian nor a Puritan. En-
dowed with considerable poetic gifts, he had unfortunately
mistaken his vocation in life. He had given up writing good
songs in order to write bad satire. He derided alike new
practices and abstruse doctrines. His view of government was
the simple one that kings ought not to be tyrannical, and that
parliaments ought not to be exacting. People were to be con-
tent with the rule in Church and State under which they were
born, provided that it made no very violent demands upon
1 State Trials, iii. 1315.
1637 PROCEEDINGS AGAINST WILLIAMS. 251
their consciences, and provided that they could attain under it
to a placid and decorous virtue. Of this virtue, as far as can
be judged by Wither's own example, the chief constituent was
to be found in a self-complacent recognition of the extreme
sinmlness of others and an equally self-complacent assurance
that this sinfulness of others was certain to bring Divine ven-
gence down upon the world. 1
Men of this temper and there can be little doubt that the
middle classes of the towns were very much of this temper
would have formed the best security that a Government could
have wished against Puritan violence. Laud's proceedings
irritated them in every possible way, till they forgot that Puri-
tanism could be irritating at all. ,
The only man who was fitted by his mental qualities for the
task of mediation in the dark days which were approaching
was unhappily disqualified for the work by his own
bishop moral defects as well as by the King's dislike.
Bishop Williams had been for many years an object
of a Star Chamber prosecution, on the ground that he had
betrayed some secrets entrusted to him as a Privy Councillor.
l628 . The charge seems to have been a frivolous one, and
Star Cham- j t was probably only brought in order to frighten
ber prosecu* J
tion against Williams into the surrender of the Deanery of West-
minster, which he still held, together with his
bishopric. In 1633 the affair took an unexpected turn. A
certain Kilvert, to whom the case against the Bishop had
!6 33 . been entrusted, and who was himself a man of low
charge moral character, discovered that one of Williams's
against
Pregion. witnesses, named Pregion, was the father of an ille-
gitimate child, and he fancied that by attacking Pregion on
this score he might succeed in discrediting his evidence in the
Bishop's favour.
Williams threw himself into the cause of his witness with
characteristic ardour. It is possible that at first he may have
1 See especially Britain's Remembrancer, published in 1628. The idea
of the subject of predestination being one for the devils in hell to discuss
appears here long before Paradise Lost was written.
252 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIII.
regarded Kilveit's story as an impudent fabrication, but he can
1634. hardly have retained that opinion long ; and there
^biainr^ise can b e ^ ttle doubt that he demeaned himself to
evidence. the subornation of false evidence in order to uphold
the character of a man whose support he needed in his own
quarrel with the Court. 1
A fresh prosecution of Williams on the charge of subor-
nation of perjury was now commenced in the Star Chamber.
!6 35 . Williams saw his danger, and asked Laud to be his
fec e udo p n r o"f mediator with the King. 2 He could hardly have
w.iiiams. expected Laud to throw much warmth into his
mediation, and he turned with greater hope to Portland, and
after Portland's death to Cottington. Cottington was impor-
tunate, and Charles was weak. Before the end of 1635 the
November. King had promised to pardon the Bishop. The
hopeTofa only question related to the rate at which the par-
pardon. <jon was to be purchased. " Thus much," wrote Laud
in despair, "can money and friends do against honour in
movable Courts." 3
Suddenly Williams found the barque of his fortunes drifting
out again to sea. Fresh evidence of his misdemeanours
December, reached the King's ears, 4 and Charles withdrew his
hesitation, promise of a pardon. A few months later the King
1636. was again hesitating. Sir John Mor.son, who had
been maligned by Williams, and by whom the new accusations
had been brought, was informed that Williams had been
boasting that he was now reconciled to the King, and that
those who appeared against him had better be careful of
1 Notes of proceedings, May 27, June 16, 23, 1637, S. P. Dom. ccclvii.
104 ; ccclxi. 99 ; ccclxii. 34. Racket's narrative is too inaccurate to be
accepted as a firm foundation. I have drawn my own conclusions from
the evidence produced at the trial. Mr. Bruce appears, from his preface
to the Calendar for 1637, to have come to much the same conclusion as I
have.
2 Laud to Williams, Jan. 10, 1635, Works, vi. 402.
3 Laud to Wentworth, Jan. 12, Oct. 4, Nov. 30, ibid. vi. 138, 171,
202.
1 Lambe to Laud, Dec. 3, 10 ; Monson to Laud, Dec. n ; Monson's
petition, Lambeth MSS. mxxx. Nos. 39, 40, 41, 42.
1636 WILLIAMS ON THE HOLY TABLE? 253
attacking a man who would soon be in full enjoyment of the
Royal favour. Monson asked Charles if there was any founda-
tion for this assertion. " The King," he afterwards informed
Laud, "answered he would be free with me, and thereupon
said it was true that he was in some treaty with the Bishop,
who had enlarged his offers, and was now willing to yield his
deanery, give 8,ooo/., and leave me to my course in law for my
repair, but that he had not given him any assurance of his
acceptance of these terms, nor would if my information were
truth." Williams only looked upon his present rebuff as a
mischance originating from his neglect to offer a bribe suffi-
ciently high. He soon gained over Lennox as well as
Cottington to his side, and, unless Monson was misinformed,
he assured the courtiers who were pleading his cause that
whatever the sum might be which he was required to pay to
the King, they should have as much again to divide amongst
themselves. Monson took care that this should reach the
King's ears, advising him to make a better bargain by allow-
ing the law to take its course, and by taking all the money
that could be got from Williams for himself. In the end this
reasoning prevailed. 1 The whole negotiation did no credit to
Charles. The lower side of Wentworth's ' Thorough ' was per-
fectly intelligible to him. The higher side he was unable to
comprehend.
Stung by his failure to bribe his way to impunity, Williams
threw himself once more into ecclesiastical controversy. A
November Do ^ recently published by Laud's chaplain, Heylyn,
The Holy A Coal from the Altar, had contained an attack upon
Name and Williams's well-known views about the position of the
communion-table. To this he replied anonymously
in The Holy Table, Name and T/iing. 2 The authorship of the
book was an open secret. It was one long argument in favour
of that compromise which Williams had recommended from
the beginning as the only legal arrangement ; the compromise
1 Letters and Papers of .Sir J. Monson, Aug. 1636, Lambeth MSS.
mxxx. Nos. 47, 48.
- IKylyn's hook was licensed May 5 ; Williams's was licensed for his
own diocese Nov. 30.
254 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIII.
by which the table, usually standing at the east end of the
church, was to be brought down to some place in the church or
chancel at the time of the administration of the Communion.
As might be expected, Williams preserved the courtesies of
debate far better than Prynne or Bast wick. His work was,
perhaps, all the more galling for that. Heylyn deemed it
worthy of a serious reply, and Laud referred to it bitterly in
the speech which he delivered at the censure of Prynne ; but
neither Laud nor Heylyn made any serious effort to refute its
main position.
By this book Williams, who had sought to escape by the aid
of the Catholics and semi-Catholics of the Court, 1 threw him-
i6 self once more on the side of the Puritans and
June 16. semi- Puritans. For the present his change of front
rtie e s c tar e '" was likely to avail him little. On June 16, 1637, the
chamber. nex j. ^ ourt day a f ter sentence had been pronounced
on Prynne, Bastwick, and Burton, his case was called on in
the Star Chamber. The evidence for the prosecution was too
strong to be resisted. When the day of sentence arrived,
Williams's old patron, Cottington, led the way by suggesting a
fine of io,ooo/. to the Kine, and one of 1,000 marks
July ix.
The sen- to Sir John Monson. The Bishop was also to be
referred to the High Commission for ecclesiastical
oensure, to be suspended from the exercise of his functions,
to be deprived of the profits of all his benefices, and to be
imprisoned during the King's pleasure. This proposal was
unanimously adopted, and the High Commission confirmed
the decree of the Star Chamber so far as it related to matters
within its special jurisdiction. 2
Williams was sent to the Tower. The administration of
his diocese was confided to his most bitter adversaries. By
the King's command Laud offered him the terms on which
alone he could recover his freedom. He must either pay his
1 Panzani had hitherto regarded Williams as a friend of the Catholics.
2 Rushworth, ii. 416. Commissioners for causes ecclesiastical to Wil-
liams, July 18. .Sentence of suspension, July 24, S. /*. Dom. cclxiv. 12,
43. See also Rossingham's Newsletters in Documents relating to Prynnt
(Camd. Soc.)
1637 LORD FALKLAND 25$
fine or give good security for its payment. He must surrender
Aug. 30. his bishopric, receiving ii return another either in
Terms Wales or Ireland, and must give up all his other be-
wiihams. nefices. He must further acknowledge that he had
committed the crime imputed to him, and that he had erred in
writing The Holy Table, Name and Thing. 1 Many weary
months passed over the prisoner's head before he was ready to
accept these hard conditions even in part.
In Williams the spirit of compromise, which was the
characteristic mark of his genius, was marred by his moral
The Latitu- defects. No such complaint could be made of a
dinanans. group of men who were working in the same direction,
and who, if they failed to mould their own age after their
image, have long been looked up to by later generations as the
pioneers of thought. These men were Lucius Gary, Viscount
Falkland, William Chillingworth, and John Hales.
Lucius Gary was the son of the Lord Deputy who had pre-
ceded Wentworth in Ireland. When he was but twelve years
old he was taken by his father to Dublin, and was
1622. *
Lord Faik- there educated at Trinity College. 2 As soon as he
had completed his academical course he prepared
for a soldier's life, and, young as he was, was entrusted by his
father's ill-judged weakness with the command of a company.
As soon as the Lord Deputy was recalled, the Lords Justices,
glad to make a cheap exhibition of virtue at the expense of the
son of a man with whom they had been at variance, deprived
the lad of his military rank, and appointed Sir Francis Wil-
1629. loughby, an abler and more experienced soldier, 3 in
Challenges his place. Young Gary, being unable to reach the
loughby Lords Justices, sent a challenge to Willoughby, and
was consequently committed to prison and threatened with a
prosecution in the Star Chamber. Charles, however, set him
1 The paper containing these terms is in Laud's hand, and endorsed,
"The King commanded me to set them down." Aug. 30, Lambeth MSS.
mxxx. fol. 68 b.
* On his mysterious connection with St. John's, Cambridge, see
Tulloch's Rational 7 heology, i. 183.
1 He did good service afterwards in defending Dublin Castle in 1641.
256 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. Lxxxni.
free after a short confinement of ten days,- allowing him the
arrears of his pay, and adding a special acknowledgment that
he had lost his command through no fault of his own. 2
The young man was doubtless gratified by the compliment.
He stood in no need of the money. His mother, a violent
Becomesheir an( ^ overbearing woman, the daughter of Chief Baron
to his grand- Tanfield. had lately declared herself a Catholic a
step which so annoyed her father that he passed
her over in his will and left his estates directly to his grandson.
As soon, therefore, as he came of age young Gary
found himself master of Great Tew, in Oxfordshire.
Scarcely was he settled there when he gave offence to his father
by entering upon a marriage of affection with a portionless
lady. With the warm impulsiveness which was the principal
charm of his character and at the same time the source of his
greatest errors, he offered to lesign the whole estate into his
father's hands if only he might have a father's love. The offer
was made in vain. The first Lord Falkland died in 1633, un-
, 633< reconciled to his son. The young man who now
Becomes inherited the Scottish title of Falkland was as yet
Lord Falk-
land, but little known to the world at large. For some
years he devoted himself to his books and his friends. Falk-
Hisiifeat land's house was the meeting-place for wits and
Great Tew, p oe (; S as we u as f or scholars and divines. Carew
and Suckling, Walter Montague and Sir Kenelm Digby were
counted amongst his friends, whilst Sheldon and Morley knew
how to lead the conversation to severer topics. Falkland him-
self played the part of host to perfection. All who had any
seriour. purpose on hand had generous welcome at Great Tew.
Univeuily men from Oxford 'found their lodgings there as
ready w; in the colleges ; nor did the lord of the house know
of their coming or going, nor who were in his house, till he
came to dinner or supper, where all still met ; otherwise there
was no trouble, ceremony, or restraint to forbid men to come
J Lady Theresa Lewis, Lives of the Friends of Clarendon, i. 189.
* I found this in some formal document in the Record Office, I think
in the enrolment of the Privy Seal granting the arrears ; but I have lost
thi reference.
LORD FALKLAND. 257
to the house or to make them weary of staying there ; so that
many came thither to study in a better air, finding all the
books they could desire in his library, and all the persons
.together whose society they could wish, and not find it in any
other society.' l
Falkland's mind was as hospitable as his house. He was
in the highest sense of the words a seeker after truth, and he
His cha- was unable to conceive that anything could be true
which was not pure and of good report. His virtues
were accompanied by their attendant defects. He was more
.keen to detect faultiness than to provide a remedy. He missed
being a great man by a little, but that little was enough. He
was too large-minded to take a mere party mould, and he was
not sufficiently large-minded to stand above party altogether.
He swayed from side to side as the special evils of either struck
him more vividly. It was characteristic of him that of all
poets he rated Ben Jonson most highly, and that in the cata-
logue of poetic gifts which he attributed to his favourite
Wit, judgment, learning, art or industry,.
the highest of all, the supreme gift of imagination, was want-
.ing. It is equally missing in Falkland's own versification,
and in this his versification was but the expression of his life.
He was too clear-sighted to make a great party-leader, like
Wentworth or Pym. He could not work out the results of a
.special political principle, and push it to its extreme conse-
quences regardless of other principles which might commend
themselves to other minds. His gentle, loving heart longed to
compose the differences of the world, and to bid the weapons
fall from hands which were prepared for bitter war. But the
comprehensiveness of his heart was not supported by compre-
hensiveness of brain. The desire for reconciliation vented
itself in impulsive anger against those who at any given time
stood forth as obstacles to reconciliation ; it did not lead up
to the reconciling thought which would have satisfied the reason-
1 Clarendon, Life, i. 41. There is a curious echo of this description in
(he account of Allworthy V hospitality in Tom Jones.
VOL. VIII. S
258 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIII.
able desires of both parties. When he chose a side he did not
know half its faults. When he deserted it he did not know
half its merits.
Falkland had not yet thrown himself into opposition. In
1637 he went out of his way to praise the King, compliment-
His praise of m g him on the sovereignty of the seas in a way
the King. not verv cons j s tent with any strong feeling on the
subject of ship-money, though the fact that he was a defaulter
in respect of at least one of his estates may be allowed to stand
for something on the opposite side. 1 Ben Jonson had just been
carried to the grave, full of years and honours. He, wrote
Falkland, would have told in befitting verse
How mighty Charles, amidst that weighty care
In which three kingdoms as their blessing share
(Whom as it tends with ever- watchful eyes,
That neither power may force nor art surprise,
So, bounded by no shore, grasps all the main,
And far as Neptune claims extends his reign),
Found still some time to hear and to admiie
The happy sounds of his harmonious lyre. 2
It was on a question of religion that Falkland was first drawn
into the controversies of the world around him. His mother,
is drawn having changed her own religion, was anxious to
troverly 000 ma ^ e proselytes of all upon whom her influence
with Rome. cou id be brought to bear. Assailed by the usual
argument that there was no infallibility but in the Roman
Church, and no salvation without infallibility, Falkland was
driven to examine the grounds of his faith. Under no cir-
cumstances is it conceivable that a mind so rational and so
candid could have accepted these propositions ; but though
Falkland's tendencies of thought belonged to himself, there was
something in the very gentleness of his nature which led him at
every important crisis in his life to seek out the support of a
mind stronger and more self-reliant than his own. In different
phases of his political career he rested alternately on Hampden
and on Hyde. In his earlier days he rested on Chillingworth
1 Arrears for Hertfordshire, 1637, S. f. Dom. ccclxxvi. 106.
* Falkland's Poems, ed. Grosart.
1637 WILLIAM CH1LLINGWORTH. 259
in their common effort to free religious belief from bondage to
human authority. 1
Though so nearly akin in their aims, the two men differed
widely in their mental characteristics. In Falkland the rea-
soning powers were subordinate to the moral per-
Falkland . r . . . v
and chii ceptions. In Chillmgworth they exercised almost
undivided sway. He was, above all things, a thinker.
His singularly clear intellect met with but little resistance from
those sympathies and antipathies which with most men count
for so much. When once he had made up his mind that any
given course was dictated by reason, nothing except conviction
by argument that he had been mistaken would deter him from
acting on his belief.
Chillingworth's early life was passed in circumstances which
boded for him a prosperous career. Born at Oxford in 1602,
l6o2- he had Laud for his godfather. He received a good
chilling- education, and in 1628 he became a Fellow of
worth s early . . ',,,,.... , .
life. Trinity. Suddenly his friends learnt, to their con-
sternation, that he had betaken himself to Douai as a convert
to the Papal Church. The Jesuit Fisher had laid
1631.
before him the argument that an infallible guide in
matters of faith was necessary for salvation, and that such a guide
was only to be found in the Roman Church. Chillingworth was at
a loss for a reply, and, as usual, he followed the superior argu-
ment. A very brief residence at Douai convinced him that he
had not searched the question to the bottom. Books of Jesuit
theology were in the habit of applying the test of probability to
moral action, and it is by no means unlikely that from them
Chillingworth drew the unintended inference that, if it was
enough to act upon the mere probability that the action was
right, it might be enough to believe on the mere probability
that the belief was true. If he accepted this as the best theory
which he could form, it was evident that he had no further
need of an infallible guide.
In making up his mind to return to the English Church
Chillingworth had been helped by letters from Laud. The
1 I am aware that the reverse has been asserted, but the relation of the
two minds seems too clear to admit of any other view than thi:
S3
260 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIII.
positions assumed by the two men were in the main identical. In
his conference with Fisher. Laud had, indeed, declared
Laud and
Chilling- that it was unnecessary to require assent to more than
the fundamental articles of the Christian faith ; l but
it was not likely that any argument would fare in Laud's hands
exactly as it would fare in Chillingworth's. Laud would be
sure to add something about the consent of antiquity and the
practical advantages of submission to authority. Chillingworth
would leave it in its own naked simplicity.
Chillingworth had not been long in England before he
Chining- began to prepare himself for that great controversial
^res his 6 " wor k by which he hoped to guide others along the
great work, path in which his own feet had stumbled.
In 1630 a Jesuit who passed by the name of Edward Knott
had published a book under the name of Charity Mistaken, in
which he argued that, except under exceptional cir-
ckarity cumstances, there was no salvation for Protestants.
Mistaken. In ^^ Dr Potter had answered the book, and the
Jesuit then replied in support of his former reason-
Potter's ing. It was here that Chillingworth intervened in
reply. ^ ne con t r oversy. For three years he was laying the
foundations of the book in which the great weapon of the
Catholic armoury was to be put to the proof.
The attraction of the library at Great Tew drew Chilling-
worth to Falkland. Intercourse quickly ripened into intimacy,
, 635> and tradition tells how much of the argument of the
Chilling- scholar was owing to the suggestions of the peer.
worth at . . . ....
Great Tew. Those who have read with attention the writings of
the two men will probably come to the conclusion that the peer
owed more to the scholar than he gave. Falkland's
reply to the letter in which Walter Montague an-
nounced his conversion goes over much the same ground as
1 Such a sentence as the following, for instance, has a very Chilling-
worthian ring : " The Church of England never declared that every one of
her articles are fundamental in the faith ; for it is one thing to say, No one
of them is superstitious or erroneous, and quite another to say, Every one
of them is fundamental, and that in every part of it, to all men's belief."
Laud's Works, ii. 60.
1636 WILLIAM CHILLINGWORTH. \ 261
that which was subsequently occupied by Chillingworth ; but
the arguments are urged without that sharp incisiveness which
marks the work of the stronger reasoner.
It is by no means unlikely that Chillingworth had braced
himself to his labours at Laud's instigation, though no evidence
, to that effect is in existence. At all events, before
direction to the book was published Laud had ample reason to
look upon it with interest In a short pamphlet
Knott sought to discredit by anticipation the reply which he
expected. He charged the author with Socinianism, and
flouted him on his pretension to appear as the advocate of a
religion which no longer dared to deck itself in its own colours.
" Protestantism," he wrote, " waxeth weary of itself. The pro-
fessors of it, they especially of greatest worth, learning, and
authority, love temper and moderation, and are at this time
more unresolved where to fasten than at the infancy of their
Church." Their doctrine, he added, was undergoing a change :
they now denied that the Pope was Antichrist ; they had begun
to pray for the dead, to use pictures, to adopt in many points
the teaching of Rome. The articles were 'impatient, nay,
ambitious, of some sense wherein they might seem Catholic.'
Calvinism was 'accounted heresy and little less than treason.'
The ' once fearful names of priests and altars ' were widely
used, and men were bidden to expound Scripture according to
the sense of the Fathers a practice which would evidently
land them at the feet of the Pope, ' seeing that by the confes-
sion of Protestants the Fathers were on the side of the Catholic
Church.'
No wonder such words as these were gleefully quoted by
the Puritans. It was exactly what they had been reiterating for
Charles tries y ears - No wonder, too, that Laud and Charles were
to get Knott deeply annoyed at so unexpected an attack. Charles
weakly allowed Wmdebank to apply to Con, asking
him to express his displeasure to the audacious Jesuit. 2 As
1 In addition to Chillingworth's quotation, De Maiseaux gives an
account of Knott's work, of which he had seen a copy.
2 Con to Barberini, 5^, Add. MSS. 15,389, fol. 384.
262 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. Lxxxni.
might have been expected, Con expressed his inability tc do
anything of the sort ; and Laud, with greater wisdom, turned
his attention to hastening the appearance of Chillingworth's
reply. 1 Towards the end of 1637, in the very heat of the
excitement engendered by Lady Newport's conversion, The
Religion of Protestants was issued to the world.
In his main argument that ' nothing is necessary to be
believed but what is plainly revealed ' 2 Chillingworth did little
,6 37 . more than put in a clearer and more logical form, with
* a ^ * ts excrescences stripped away, the contention
tants. o f Laud in the conference with Fisher. That which
marks the pre-eminence of the younger writer is his clear sense
of the subordination of intellectual conviction to moral effort.
If men, he says, ' suffer themselves neither to be betrayed into
their errors, nor kept in them by any sin of their will ; if they
do their best endeavour to free themselves from all errors, and
yet fail of it through human frailty, so well am I persuaded of
the goodness of God, that if in me alone should meet a conflu-
ence of all such errors of all the Protestants of the world that
were thus qualified, I should not be so much afraid of them all
as I should be to ask pardon for them.' 3
In these words, not in the counter-dogmatism of the Puritan
zealot, lay the true answer to the claim to infallibility which was
so ostentatiously flaunted before the world by the Roman mis-
sionaries. It was the old doctrine of Sir Thomas More and
the men of the new learning coming to the surface once more,
under happier auspices. It breathed the very spirit of mutual
regard for zeal and earnestness in the midst of intellectual
differences. It became men, Chillingworth held, to be very
careful how they set up the creatures of their own imaginations
as if they were the veriest certainties of Divine revelation.
" This presumptuous imposing of the senses of men upon the
general words of God," he writes, "and laying them upon
men's consciences together, under the equal penalty of death
and damnation ; this vain conceit that we can speak of the
things of God better than in the words of God ; this deifying
1 Chillingworth's reasons, Sept. 19, S. P. Dom. ccclxvii. 116.
* Works, i. 230. Ibid. i. 8 1.
1637 WILLIAM CH1LLINGWORTH. 263
our own interpretations and tyrannous enforcing them upon
others ; this restraining of the Word of God from that latitude
and generality, and the understandings of men from that liberty
wherein Christ and the Apostles left them- -is and hath been
the only fountain of all the schisms of the Church, and that
which makes them immortal ; the common incendiary of
Christendom, and that which tears into pieces, not the coat,
but the bowels and members of Christ. . . . Take away these
walls of separation, and all will quickly be one. Take away
this persecuting, burning, cursing, damning of men for not
subscribing to the words of men as the words of God ; require
of Christians only to believe Christ, and to call no man master,
but Him only ; let those leave claiming infallibility that have
no title to it, and let them that in their words disclaim it dis-
claim it also in their actions." " Christians," he says again,
" must be taught to set a higher value upon those high points
of faith and obedience wherein they agree than upon those
matters of less moment wherein they differ, and understand
that agreement in those ought to be more effectual to join
them in one communion than their difference in other things
of less moment to divide them. When I say in one commu-
nion, I mean in a common profession of those articles wherein
all consent a joint worship of God, after such a way as all
esteem lawful, and a mutual performance of all those works of
charity which Christians owe one to another." l
It is not given to any one man, even if he be a Chilling-
worth, to make out with complete fulness the remedies needed
Defects of for the evils of his age. Dogmatism, too, has its
worth's 8 " functions to perform in the work of the world. The
system. vam belief in the possession of all truth is higher and
more ennobling than the disbelief that truth exists at all ; and
it is impossible to deny that to the mass of Chillingworth's
contemporaries the suspension of judgment, which was to him
the ultimate result of a keen and earnest search after truth,
would seem to be the very negation of the existence of truth
itself. Even calmer judgments might well doubt whether
1 Works, ii. 37.
26^T THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIII.
Chillingworth's notion of a 'joint worship of God after such a
way as all esteem lawful ' was feasible, or whether, even if it
proved feasible, it was at all desirable. Chillingworth's mind
was too purely intellectual to enable him to understand how
any given ritual could either raise admiration or provoke hos-
tility. He cared much whether a proposition was true or not
He had but a languid interest in forms of prayer. In his reply
to Knott's last pamphlet he took up the defence of the recent
changes. " What," he said, " if out of fear that too much sim-
plicity and nakedness in the public service of God may beget
in the ordinary sort of men a dull and stupid irreverence, and
out of hope that the outward state and glory of it, being well-
disposed and wisely moderated, may engender, quicken,
increase, and nourish the inward reverence, respect, and devo-
tion which is due unto God's sovereign majesty and power;
what if, out of a persuasion and desire that Papists may be won
over to us the sooner by the removing of this scandal out of
their way, and out of a holy jealousy that the weaker sort of
Protestants might be the easier seduced to them by the mag-
nificence and pomp of their Church service, in case it were
not removed I say, what if, out of these considerations, the
governors of our Church, more of late than formerly, have set
themselves to adorn and beautify the places where God's
honour dwells, and to make them as heaven-like as they can
with earthly ornaments ? " ] There is something contemptuous
in such a defence as this. Above all, there is no acknowledg-
ment by Chillingworth of the fact that moral influence may
spread abroad from men who are very wrong-headed and very
positive. The toleration which cheerfully grants free liberty
to those who differ irreconcilably from us is the complement
of the tolerance which seeks out by preference the points in
which others agree with us rather than those in which they
differ. The latter was Chillingworth's contribution to the
peace of the Church and nation ; for the former we must look
elsewhere. Yet, before we plunge into the strife out of which
the better thought was to be evolved, we may well linger a
1 Works, i. 23.
1638 JOHN HALES. 265
moment to contemplate the life of one whose nature was more
i6 g complete, and whose personality was more altogether
John Hales lovely, than that of the great controversialist. Rather
than to Chillingworth, rather than to Falkland, the
discerning eye is attracted to one who was in his own estima-
tion less than either, but of whom those who knew him best
loved to speak as the ever-memorable John Hales.
The genial recluse, with his prodigious memory and his
keen, rapier-like thrust of argument, was the most loving and
tender-hearted of men. In his Eton fellowship he found him-
self at home under the provostship of the large-minded Sir
Henry Wotton. His views of life and religion were in the
main identical with those of Chillingworth, but he approached
the subject from the other side. In Chillingworth the logical
faculty was supreme. In Hales it was at the service of a
singularly gentle and affectionate heart Hence he began
where Chillingworth left off. He did not argue himself into
the belief that the intention to go wrong, and not the failure
itself, was culpable. He rather made it the starting-point of
his reasoning. " He would often say that he would renounce
the religion of the Church of England to-morrow if it obliged
him to believe that any other Christian should be damned, and
that nobody would conclude another man to be damned that
did not wish him so." 1 "Every Christian," he wrote, "may
err that will ; for if we might not err wilfully, then there would
be no heresy, heresy being nothing else but wilful error. For
if we account mistakes befalling us through human frailties
to be heresies, then it will follow that every man since the
Apostles' times was an heretic." 2 Hence he could take but
little interest in Chillingworth's search after fundamental
truths. That men should err was, in his eyes, a necessity of
their nature. The venerable names of the Fathers of the
ancient Church, the imposing solemnity of ecclesiastical coun-
cils, conferred no exemption from the universal law. " If
truth and goodness," he wrote, " go by universality and mul-
titude, what mean then the prophets and holy men of God
1 Clarendon, Life, i. 54-
2 On the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Works, i. 63.
266 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIII.
everywhere in the Scripture so frequently, so bitterly to com-
plain of the small number of good men careful of God and
truth ? Neither is the complaint proper to Scripture ; it is the
common complaint of all that have left any records of antiquity
behind them. Could wishing do any good, I could wish well
to this kind of proof ; but it shall never go so well with man-
kind that the most shall be the best. The best that I can say
of argument and reason drawn from universality in multitude is
this : such reason may perchance serve to excuse an error, but
it can never serve to warrant a truth."
Yet, for all this, the investigation of truth was the highest
work of man. The words of the Apostle, " Be not deceived,"
The search were spoken not only to the wise and learned, but
for truth. < to everyone, of whatever sex, of whatever rank or
degree and place soever, from him that studies in his library to
him that sweats at the plough-tail.' But the command is not
obeyed by those who content themselves with storing their
memories with opinions learned by rote. He that would not
be deceived must not only know ' what it is that is commanded,'
must not therefore take his duties on trust from a Church
claiming to be infallible, or from a venerated preacher, but
must also know ' wherefore that is, upon what authority, upon
what reason.' l At last the new thought which was to form the
modern world had reached its full and clear expression.
Like Chilli ngworth, Hales too had his dream of Utopian
harmony of worship. "Were liturgies and public forms of
Public service so framed, "he argued, "as that they admitted
worship. not O f particular and private fancies, but contained
only such things as in which all Christians do agree, schisms in
opinion were utterly vanished. For consider of all the liturgies
that are or ever have beew, and remove from them whatsoever
is scandalous to any party, and leave nothing but what all agree
on, and the event shall be that the public service and honour
of God shall no ways suffer ; whereas to load our public forms
with the private fancies upon which we differ is the most sove-
reign way to perpetuate schism unto the world's end. Prayer,
1 Sermon on private judgment in religion. Works, iii. 141.
1638 JOHN HALES. 267
confession, thanksgiving, reading of Scripture, exposition of
Scripture, administration of sacraments in the plainest and
simplest manner, were matter enough to furnish out a sufficient
liturgy, though nothing else of private opinion, or of church
pomp, of garments, of prescribed gestures, of imagery, of music,
of matter concerning the dead, of many superfluities which
creep into churches under the name of order and decency, did
interpose itself." '
The tract on schism in which these words occur was circu-
lated in manuscript in the spring of 1638. No wonder that
Hales sent when a copy fell into Laud's hands he sent for the
for by Laud. aut h O r to Lambeth. Yet he could not but know
that Hales, if not his ally, was at least the assailant of his
enemies. A few years before, perhaps, he would have dealt
harshly with him. He could not find it in his heart now to
visit very severely a champion whose thrusts were directed against
Puritan and Papist alike. The two men walked up and down
the garden in friendly, if sometimes in warm, argument Laud
breathed a word of caution. The time, said the Archbishop,
was ' very apt to set new doctrines on foot, of which the wits of
the age were too susceptible.' 2 ' There could not be too much
care taken to preserve the peace and unity of the Church.' As
Hales came away he met Heylyn, and fooled him to the top of
his bent, 3 assuring him that the Archbishop had proved far
superior in controversy, ferreting him ' from one hole to another
till there was none left to afford him any further shelter ; that
he was now resolved to be orthodox, and to declare himself a
true son of the Church of England both for doctrine and dis-
cipline.' 4 Hales, no doubt, was laughing in his sleeve at the
pompous chaplain. Yet it must be remembered that it is not
from men of Hales's stamp that vigorous self-assertion is to be
expected. In writing to Laud he did not, it is true, retract any
of his positive opinions, but he certainly explained away some
1 Tract concerning schism, Works, i. 1 14.
7 This is Clarendon's account. Life, i. 55.
1 This is Principal Tulloch's explanation, and is, I have no doubt, the
right one.
4 Heylyn, Cyprianus Anglicus, 340.
268 THE RELIGIOUS OPPOSITION. CH. Lxxxiii.
of his utterances. Laud was satisfied with his explanation,
and in the following year he procured for him a canonry at
Windsor.
Though in the days of conflict Falkland and Chillingworth
and Hales would be found on Charles's side, in the long run the
The influ- spirit which inspired them would be found a far more
ence of Lad- powerful dissolvent of Laud's system than the Puri-
tudmartan- . . '
jsmnot tanism which he dreaded. Its time was not yet
immediate. , , . - , . .. . ....
come. Two theories of the religious life were in
presence of one another, and those theories were entwined with
a whole mass of habits which could not readily be shaken off.
The strife was approaching, and it was not till the combatants
had measured their strength with one another that they would
be ready to listen to the words of peace. Even when that time
came the solution would not be altogether such as Hales would
have approved. The religious conscience would demand a
more definite creed, and a more definite ceremonial, than that
for which he had asked. By the side of the idea of com-
prehension would arise the idea of toleration. The one would
soften down asperities, and teach the assured dogmatist to put
on something of that humility in which the controversialist of
all periods is so grievously deficient. The other would prepare
room for the unchecked development of that individuality
which is the foundation of all true vigour in churches and in
nations.
CHAPTER LXXXIV.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION.
THE ecclesiastical grievances were only felt by a part of the
community. Financial burdens were felt by everyone who
ig had property. In the summer of 1637 the outcry
Political against ship-money had become general.
No unprejudiced person can deny that the exist-
ence of a powerful fleet was indispensable to the safety of the
State, or that the amount of money demanded by
Sh:p-money
met an Charles for the equipment of that fleet was no more
' than the case required. The charge which has fre-
quently been brought against him of spending the money thus
levied on objects unconnected with its ostensible purpose is
without a shadow of foundation ; and it is perfectly certain
that, though the grant of tonnage and poundage had originally
been made in order to provide the Crown with the means of
guarding the seas, the expenses of government had so far in-
creased that if tonnage and poundage were to be applied to
that 'purpose on the scale that had now become necessary, the
exchequer would soon be in a condition of bankruptcy.
Even the most just and necessary taxation, however, is
sometimes received with murmurs. If such murmurs are not
to lead to actual resistance, it is incumbent on those
but was im-
posed.with- w h o impose the tax to explain to the tax-payer the
out t e con- ... r -. , *. ' .,
sent of \he necessity under which they are placed, and 11 possible
to find some way of obtaining his consent It was
the very -thing that -Charles had not dared to do. He well
knew that to summon a Parliament would be to endanger the
270 THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV.
success of his ecclesiastical policy, and he had no mind to run
the risk.
The fleet obtained by the levy of ship-money had done
nothing sufficiently striking to make men forget the faults of
Services of ^ s origin. The maintenance of trade with Dunkirk,
the fleet. m ^g f ace o f threats of a Dutch or French attack
upon that nest of privateers, interested only a few traders in
London or Dover ; whilst the exploits of the King's ships
amongst the Dutch fishermen 1 in the summer of 1637 would,
if the truth had been known, have awakened scorn rather than
admiration. If a less inglorious success was achieved in the
same summer by a squadron of six vessels under Captain Rains-
borough at Sallee, it was due to other causes than
tion fa**' the skill of the commander or the efficiency of the
armament. Rainsborough was sent to deliver from
slavery the European captives of the Barbary pirates, but his
efforts to overcome their stronghold by attack or blockade
were entirely ineffectual. Luckily, however, a civil war broke
out amongst the Moors, and the King of Morocco purchased
the neutrality of the English fleet by the surrender of 271
prisoners. 2
Yet it was not because ship-money was badly spent that
the impost was assailed in England. Voices were raised on
every side declaring it to be utterly illegal. Ship-
Ship-money . i ji j i j j 11
attacked as money, it was loudly declared, was undeniably a tax,
and the ancient customs of the realm, recently em-
bodied in the Petition of Right, had announced, with no doubt-
ful voice, that no tax could be levied without consent of Parlia-
ment. Even this objection was not the full mea-
tutionai ob- sure of the evil. If Charles could take this money
without consent of Parliament, he need not, unless
some unforeseen emergency arose, ever summon a parliament
1 See page 220.
2 Brissenden to Nicholas, Sept. 21. Rainsborough's journal, S. P.
Dom, ccclxviii. 6, ccclxix. 72 ; Carteret to Coke, Sept. 21. List of
prisoners released. S. P. Morocco. Garrard's statement (Strafford Letters,
ii. 1 1 8) that Rainsborough ' put the new town of Sallee into the King of
Morocco's hands ' is exaggerated.
1637 SHIP-MONEY QUESTIONED, 271
again. The true question at issue was whether Parliament
formed an integral part of the Constitution or not
A charge has sometimes been brought against the English-
men of that day that they concerned themselves overmuch with
legality and precedent. Undoubtedly they loved to
Attachment , ,, . - t i 1-11
of the nation dwell upon the antiquity 01 the rights which they
5 legality. c i a j mec L Antiquaries like Selden or Twysden ex-
pressed the tendencies of their age as truly as thinkers like
Voltaire and Rousseau expressed the tendencies of theirs.
The legality which they cherished was the legality of a nation
which had hitherto preserved unbroken the traditions of self-
government. Spoken or unspoken, beneath all the technicali-
ties of the lawyers, beneath all the records of the antiquaries,
.here remained an undertone of reliance upon the nation itself.
Parliaments had been established to gather into a focus the
national resolve. Kings had been established to give prompt
efficacy to the resolve which had been formed. It was a new
thing that a king should treat the policy and religion of the
nation as if they concerned himself alone ; but the men who
opposed it because it was new, opposed it still more because it
was degrading.
Charles fancied that the question of the legality of ship-
money had been settled for ever in his favour by the declara-
The question ti n of the judges. 1 Lord Saye and John Hampden
mon h e'ytobe thought otherwise. They resolved that, whatever
argued. th e result might be, the argument against ship-money
should be heard in open court, and Charles was too confident
of the justice of his cause to offer any opposition.
For some unknown reason perhaps because his case was
more simple than that of Saye Hampden's refusal was selected
Difficulties to test tne opinion of the judges. His case was to
in the way. b e argued in the Exchequer Chamber. The counsel
employed by him were St. John and Holborne, lawyers con-
nected wii-h the Earl of Bedford. They would have to argue
with the full knowledge that the court was against them,
and they would have therefore to put forward jusc that side of
the argument which would not call down the violent censure
1 See page 208.
C72 THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV
of the judges. It would be far easier to show that Charles was
politically in the wrong than to show that he was legally in the
wrong ; but they were bound by their position to urge legal
.objections, only indirectly touching upon the political objections,
if they touched on them at all. They knew that the judges
had acknowledged the King to be the sole judge of danger
from abroad, and they therefore could not venture to question
a maxim adopted on such authority.
St. John accordingly began by making a great concession.
He abandoned any attempt to draw a distinction between
the levy of ship-money in the inland counties and its
St. John's levy in the maritime counties. He acknowledged,
too, that the King was the sole judge of the existence
of danger. The law, he said, had given the King power, 'by
writ under the Great Seal of England, to command the inhabi-
tants of each county to provide shipping for the defence of the
kingdom, so that he might by law compel the doing thereof.'
The only question was in what manner he was to exercise this
power. St. John answered his own question by arguing that
.as the King could not set fines nor deliver judgment except
through the judges, so he could not raise money beyond his
ordinary revenue except by Parliament. He showed that there
-were special reasons for this restriction. A representative
: assembly was likely to be a jealous guardian of the property of
its constituents. The King was under no such bonds. If he
xould lay what charge he pleased on his subjects 'it would
come to pass that, if the subject hath anything at all, he is not
beholden to the law for it, but it is left entirely in the mercy and
goodness of the King.'
; The remainder of St. John's argument may profitably be
stripped of its technicalities. It is a good thing, he said in
effect, that there should be some one to keep an eye on the
possibility of danger. It is also a good thing that property
should be guarded against unnecessary claims. It was, there-
fore, well that the King, when he had discovered the danger,
should, under ordinary circumstances, be compelled to apply
.to Parliament for the taxation needed to meet it. It might be,
indeed, that the danger developed so rapidly that time for an
1637 THE SHIP-MONEY CASE. 273
application to Parliament was wanting. In that case the rights
of property would be simply in abeyance. If a French or a
Spanish army landed unexpectedly in Kent or Devonshire, no
one would blame the Government because it seized horses
from a gentleman's stable to drag artillery, or ordered its troops
to charge across a farmer's cornfields. It was a matter of
notoriety, however, that in the present case no such danger had
occurred. Writs had been issued in August for the purpose of
equipping a fleet which was not needed till March. What pos-
sible reason could be alleged why Parliament had not been
summoned in the course of those seven months, to grant a
subsidy in the regular way ?
A reason no doubt there was, to which St. John did not
venture even to allude, but which his hearers were not likely
to forget A Parliament, once summoned, would be certain
to discuss other matters besides ship-money, and would most
probably demand an entire reversal of the civil and ecclesias-
tical policy of the reign.
St. John supported his arguments by the usual store of
antiquarian learning. He was able to show that the kings of
England had frequently paid for services done in defence of
the realm, even when they had been forced to borrow money
to enable them to do so. Surely, he urged, no king would have
done this if he had been aware that he might legally impose
the burden on his subjects.
When St. John sat down he found himself famous. The
crowded audience drank in every word that he said, listening as
men would listen who believed their property and their rights
to be at stake.
As Solicitor-General, Lyttelton undertook to reply. It
would have been strange if he had failed to find cases in which
English kings had occasionally taken money irregu-
Lytteiton's larly. The struggle between Crown and Parliament
argument. j^ fo een a con flj c t of strength as well as a conflict
of principle, and an advocate of the Government might easily
go astray by quoting acts of aggression as if they had embodied
the very spirit of the law. When Lyttelton ascended from
precedent to principle, the weakness of his case must have been
VOL. VIII. T
274 THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV
manifest even to those who knew little of constitutional law.
He acknowledged that the King had no right to impose ship-
money, excepting in time of danger, and he made the most of
the argument that the rights of property were not weakened by
taking what was needed for the defence of property itself. All
laws must give way to the law of necessity, and in times of ne-
cessity it was impossible to appeal to Parliament. Forty days
must elapse after the issue of the writs before Parliament could
meet, and then would follow long debates and conferences be-
tween the Houses. Before an agreement could be arrived at
the kingdom would be lost.
Lyttelton's argument would have been an excellent one if it
had had the slightest relation to the actual circumstances of the
case. Even supposing that the seven months which passed
between the issue of the writ and the assemblage of the fleet
had been insufficient to enable Parliament to come to a deci-
sion on that year's supply, no such excuse could be pleaded on
behalf of an exaction which was now being renewed for a fourth
annual period. Evidently the danger was considered at Court
to be a permanent one, and to a permanent danger Lyttelton's
reasoning had no application whatever.
Holborne in a few words blew down the house of cards
which had been erected by the Solicitor-General. The writ,
he said, did not mention the existence of imminent
Dec. 2.
Hoibornes danger. Then, rising to the occasion, he argued,
argument. am ^ t interruptions from the Bench, 'that by the
fundamental laws of England the King cannot, out of Parlia-
ment, charge the subject no, not for the common good unless
in special cases.' Not only could not the King do it ' for the
guard of the sea against pirates, but he could not even do it for
the ordinary defence of the kingdom unavoidably in danger
to be lost.' Then, going farther than St John had ventured to
go, he refused to acknowledge that the King was the proper
judge of danger, except when that danger was so closely im-
pending that it was impossible to consult Parliament at all.
The great constitutional issue was raised more distinctly
by Holbonne than by St. John. For him Parliament, not the
King, was the main organ of the sovereignty of the nation over
1637 THE SHIP-MONEY CASE. 275
itself. Bankes, the Attorney-General, refused to meet him
Dec i6 on that ground. The court, he argued, had no
Argument of right to inquire under what circumstances the King
Ban es. could exercise his judgment. It was enough to know
that it had been exercised. His power of forming the ne-
cessary decision was ' innate in the person of an absolute king
and in the persons of the Kings of England ; so inherent in
the king that it is not any ways derived from the people, but
reserved to the king when positive laws first began.'
In the course of his three days' argument Bankes had pro-
duced many precedents, in which the obligation of the subject
to defend the realm in person, by land or sea, was
Dec. 18. o f ten confused with the special obligation of dwellers
on the coast to provide ships for its defence. Nor did he omit
to quote a few cases in which in older times the inhabitants
of inland counties had been compelled to find money cr the
provision of ships. He was, however, totally unable to show
anything like a general contribution enforced from year to year.
In the end he repeated his declaration that the King
:>ec ' 19 ' was an absolute monarch and the sole judge of
danger. To ' distrust that he will command too great a power
or aid, it is a presumption against the presumption of the law.'
" My Lords," he said in conclusion, " if there were no law
to compel unto this duty, yet nature and the inviolate law of
preservation ought to move us. These vapours which are ex-
haled from us will again descend upon us in our safety and in
the honour of our nation ; and therefore let us obey the King s
command by his writ, and not dispute. He is the first mover
among these orbs of ours, and he is the circle of tnis circum-
ference, and he is the centre of us all, wherein we all as the
loins should meet. He is the soul of this body, whose proper
act is to command."
Bankes thus supplied whatever defects there might be in
Holborne's argument. When he sat down it must have been
abundantly clear to all who were present that if his
Importance . , , t
of Bankers view was accepted as the true one, the eld Parlia-
mentary constitution of England was at an end In
that case, as they had already learned from St John, no man
T 2
276 THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV.
could hold his property except on sufferance. Those who cared
less for pelf, and more for the old constitutional inheritance of
their race, learned from the glib utterance of a lawyer's tongue
that the system under which they fondly believed that long
generations of their ancestors had lived and died had never had
any real existence. The assemblies of early times before the
Conquest, the Great Councils of Norman kings, the Parliaments
of the Plantagenets were, it would seem, merely ornamental
appendages to the substantial edifice of the monarchy. No
doubt the King still professed his intention of ruling according
to the law. No doubt the Great Charter, the confirmation of
the Charters, and the recent Petition of Right would still be
quoted and wrangled over in Westminster Hall, but their
living force would be gone. The representative monarchy of
Henry VIII. and Elizabeth would cease to be, as completely
as the Parliamentary monarchy of the House of Lancaster
would cease to be. In its stead was to be raised the authority
of a king ruling in accordance with his own inscrutable counsels,
whilst the English people was to wait patiently for the decision
of its master. His was the wisdom which foresees everything
and arranges everything, which no contingency could take by-
surprise and no calamity find without resource. Theirs was the
ignorance of a herd of cattle contentedly grazing in the fat
pastures prepared for them till their owner thought good to
send them forth to the slaughter-house of war.
It is certain that, whether Charles was or was not pos-
sessed of the profound wisdom needed to make good the
Conditions claim advanced in his name, no time could be con-
"he d daira to* ce i v d more unfitted for its general acceptance. So
absolute f ar as the King's advocates demanded that compli-
power was '
made. cated affairs should be entrusted to the decision of
the few rather than of the many, they merely asked what was
in accordance with the necessities of human nature ; but they
loft out of sight the fact that it is equally in accordance with
those necessities that the decision of the few should be openly
or tacitly submitted to the approval of the many. At the
moment, too, the very success attained by Charles's fleet made
the mystery in which he veiled his resolutions more unin-
1637 THE SHIP-MONEY JUDGMENT. 277
telligible. When a great crisis arrives in the national fortunes,
: when an invasion by a foreign Power is impending and the
means of resistance are scanty, it is far more important that the
plans for meeting the danger should proceed from one brain,
and that the forces of resistance should be concentrated in one
hand, than that there should be a public Parliamentary discus-
sion on the proper tactics to be pursued. Nothing of the kind
was impending now. When Richelieu determined to keep his
new fleet out of the English Channel,, he struck a decisive
stroke, though he knew it not, on behalf of the Parliamentary
liberties of England. If a combined French and Dutch fleet
had attacked Dunkirk, and had threatened English commerce
on the English coasts, all the patriotism in England would have
Deen loud in demanding that the powers of Government should
be increased, though it is quite possible that an effort would also
have been made to substitute a thoughtful and able Govern-
ment for one which had proved itself shiftless and inefficient. As
it was, there was no reason whatever that special powers should
be conceded where no special reasons existed for their exercise.
The decision of the judges remained to be heard. As only
two were to deliver their opinion on the same day^ and as, in
consequence of the claims of other business, a cbnsi-
The opinion derable delay would intervene between the utterances
>fthejudges. Q ^ ^^ ^^ Q ^ gp^]^^ some months must elapse
before the judgment of the whole Bench could be known.
It was not likely that the judges would break away from
their declaration of the preceding winter. On some of them
no doubt the dependent position to which they had been
reduced by Charles may have been not without its influence j
but it must not be forgotten that the question itself was rather
one for political than for judicial settlement. Hampden and
his supporters were only careful to establish a negative. They
saw clearly that the right assumed by the King was fatal to the
Parliamentary constitution of England. The judges might well
ask what was the alternative proposed. Was a House of Com-
mons, as yet unguided by any cabinet and undisciplined by
any party lies, to be expected to meet with wise forethought alf
the exigencies of foreign affairs ? What was really wanted, if
THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV.
there was not to be a political revolution, was that the
should not only exercise his discretion, but should really be
discreet, should only use extraordinary powers in extraordinary
circumstances, and should withhold his confidence from the
nation no further than it might be in the interest of the nation
that secrecy should be maintained for a time. Unfortunately,
such a consummation was beyond the power of any judicial
decision to effect
Something of this difficulty seems to have been felt by
Baron Weston, who delivered judgment first He believed
judgment of tnat tne King had decided rightly in fitting out the
Weston ; fleet If, indeed, it had been done by Parliament, it
had been done by the happiest means. But he could not lay
down the law that it must always be done by Parliament. If
the enemy had come ' before the Parliament had met, or before
they had granted any aid, should the safety of the kingdom
depend upon such contingencies ? '
This reluctance to acknowledge the existence of a general
prohibitory law was the strongest ground on which the King's
supporters could rely. It was not likely that all of
ofCrawley _, , , , . , ,,.
and Ber- Weston s brethren would be content to give so half-
hearted a support to the Crown. Crawley, who
followed, declared that it was a royal prerogative ' to impose
taxes without common consent of Parliament.' Berkeley went
further still. He fixed upon Holborne's argument that, by the
fundamental policy of the realm, sovereigns who wished to exact
money at their pleasure ought to be restrained by Parliament
"The law," he said, "knows no such king-yoking policy. The
law is of itself an old and trusty servant of the King's ; it is his
instrument and means which he useth to govern his people by.
I never read nor heard that Lex was Rex, but it is common
and most true that Rex is Lex, for he is Lex loquens, a living,
a speaking, an acting law."
Vernon and Trevor followed on the same side. It was not
till five of the judges had declared for the King that
Trevoand one was found to take part with the defendant. Sir
George Croke is said to have hesitated what he should
say, but to have been encouraged by his wife to speak his
1638 THE SHIP-MONEY JUDGMENT. 279
mind without fear of consequences. The tale has no sufficient
evidence to support it, and he was hardly the man to need
such an exhortation. However this may have been, he spoke
distinctly and emphatically. It was utterly contrary to law, he
said, to set any charge whatever upon the subject except in
Parliament. Even under this condition the King could not
possibly find any difficulty in providing for the defence of the
realm. He had power to press into his service . every single
man and every single ship in England. ' The imagination of
man,' he said, 'could not invent a danger, but course might be
taken till Parliament be had.' No example of such a writ as
that before the Court could be produced from the whole course
of English history.
Of the remaining judges, Hutton followed decisively in
Croke's steps. Denham who was ill, gave a brief judgment in
Hampden's favour, and Bramston and Davenport
judges for placed themselves, for technical reasons, on the same
wn " side. Jones and Finch pronounced for the King.
Charles could count as his own but seven voices out of twelve,
giving him the smallest of all possible majorities.
Of all the arguments delivered on the side of the Crown
none created so profound an impression as that of Finch. It
had at least the merit of plain speaking, and the
Finch's con- ....
stimtionai spontaneity of its tone is such as to raise a suspicion
that the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, over-
bearing and brutal as he could be upon occasion, was not the
mere time-server that he is generally reckoned. Finch held,
as all reasonable politicians now hold, that in every State some
man or body of men must exist above all human control, and
that though this supreme authority may be wisely subjected to
checks and hindrances, it must be able in case of supreme neces-
sity to brush aside those checks and hindrances without appeal.
This power, which is now attributed to the constituencies, was
by Finch attributed to the King. The law, he said, having
given to the King the duty of defending the country, had of
necessity given him the right of laying the charge which would
enable him to fulfil the duty imposed upon him. " Acts of
Parliament," he boldly added, "to take away his Royal power in
28o THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV.
the defence of his kingdom are void . . . They are void Acts
of Parliament to bind the King not to command the subjects,
their persons and goods, and I say their money too, for no
Acts of Parliament make any difference." 1
This was at least plain speaking. After this, what was the
use of going back to those ancient laws which were fondly re-
garded as the bulwarks of English liberty ? Precedent
Effect of . 111 mi
Finch's and statute had been quoted in vain. There was, it
seemed, a transcendent authority in the King which
neither law nor Parliament could fetter. No wonder men took
alarm at so portentous a doctrine, and that those who claimed
sovereignty for the law and those who claimed sovereignty for
Parliaments were equally roused to indignation. " Undoubt-
edly," wrote Clarendon long afterwards, "my Lord Finch's
speech made ship-money much more abhorred and formidable
than all the commandments by the Council table and all the
distresses taken by the sheriffs of England." 2 It did more
than that. It taught men to know, beyond all possibility of
mistake, that the reign of Parliament and the reign of law were
indissolubly connected, and that the fond idea of an unparlia-
mentary government acting under legal restraint must be cast
aside for ever.
The speeches of the popular lawyers, and the judgments of
the popular judges, were circulated from hand to hand. A
settled conviction took possession of Englishmen that, if the
majority of the judges was against them, the weight of argu-
ment was on their side. Never had the authority of Charles
sunk so low as after the victory which he counted himself to
have won.
Charles acted as if doubt was no longer possible. The
voice of the judges, when it spoke in his own favour, was to
him as the voice of the law itself. Sharp orders were
at once issued for the immediate collection of the
te ' arrears. Sheriffs were to bring in the money on pain
of a summons before the Council. Constables refusing to assess,
magistrates of towns refusing to collect, and men of standing
1 State Trials, iii. 825. J Clarendon, i. 71.
1638 PAYMENT ENFORCED. 281
refusing to pay were to be treated in the same manner. This
pressure was not exerted entirely in vain. Even the sturdy
Richard Chambers, who had refused to pay ship-money as he
had refused to pay tonnage and poundage before, was liberated
from prison upon payment of the io/. charged upon him, though
he consoled himself by bringing an action against the Lord
Mayor, who had assessed it, upon the ground of some technical
informality. 1 At the end of July, 78,ooo/. was still in arrear.
Though by the end of October, 3o,ooo/. of this sum had been
paid in, the arrears still unpaid were twice as large as those re-
maining at the end of October i637. 3 If these, however, could
be recovered there was no reason to despair of the exchequer.
Never since the accession of the Stuart dynasty had the finances
been in so flourishing a condition as in the spring of 1638.
The great customs, which had for some years been farmed for
i5o,ooo/., were let afresh for 165, ooo/. 3 The new burdens laid
since Portland's death were beginning to tell, and with ordinary
prudence the King would be certain to secure himself against a
deficit, unless, indeed, he contrived to entangle himself in war.
The great case of ship-money was peculiarly adapted to
bring into a focus all the political dissatisfaction which existed
in England. The incidence of the tax was felt by all
Other griev- . , ... ; . .
ances besides but the very poorest, and the question at issue, with
>ney< its wide and far-reaching consequences, was capable
of being summed up in a few terse words which would fix
themselves in the dullest understanding. As was, however, to
be expected, the grievance of ship-money did not stand alone*
Complaints were heard of other mischiefs inflicted for the most
part on special classes or special localities, each of them sepa-
rately of less importance than that caused by the ship-money,
but which, taken together, were sufficient to excite a consider-
able amount of irritation.
1 Rossingham's News- Letter, June 16, 1640, S. P. Dem. cccclvii. 36.
2 Council Register, June 30, July 15. Russell's account, Oct. 27,
1637, July 28, Oct. 27, 1638, .5". P. Dom. ccclxx. 57, cccxlv. 93, 9S,cccc,
114, 115.
3 Indenture, March 17, 1638, Patent Rolls, 13 Charles I., Part 41,
No. i.
282 THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV.
Of these the foremost was the complaint of the action of
the Forest Courts, the unwonted activity of which had been in
The Forest operation ever since 1634. In the course of three years
Couru. Holland, as Chief Justice in Eyre, had held his justice-
seat in the Forest of Dean, in Waltham Forest, and in the
!6 37 . New Forest. 1 In 1637 the turn of the Forest of
September. Rockingham arrived. The fines set by Holland
Rockingham were enormous. The Earl of Salisbury was called on
to pay 2o,ooo/., the Earl of Westmoreland i9,ooo/.,
Sir Christopher Hatton i2,ooo/. The bounds of the forest had
been reckoned as measuring six miles in circumference. They
were now to measure sixty. 2 As usually happened, the fines
Nov actually levied were far less than those originally set.
The forest In November commissioners were named to com-
pound with all persons guilty of offences against
forest law. 3 After the commission had been in action two
years and a half, only 23,0007. had been brought by it into the
exchequer from all the forests in England. 4 The sum paid
was indeed small enough when compared with that originally
demanded, but it was large enough to cause considerable dis-
content in the minds of those who believed themselves to be
buying off, on compulsion, a purely imaginary claim.
No public object was aimed at by Charles in these exactions.
In the institution of new corporations with exclusive rights of
Corporate manufacture, or of sale, he, or those who acted in
monopolies. hj s nam e, were doubtless guided to a large extent by
considerations of public benefit. The Monopoly Act of 1624
had been the result partly of the jealousy aroused amongst
traders, who saw the profits of trade going into the hands of
courtiers, and partly of the pressure felt in consequence of the
violation of economic laws by those who could give no account
of the true cause of the mischief. Not only had that Act left
untouched the general power of the Crown to institute corpora-
tions with the right of monopoly, but it had not been accom-
1 See vol. vii. 362, 365 ; viii. 77, 86. *
2 Garrard to Wentworth, Oct. 9, Strafford Lettt rs, ii. 114.
1 Commission, Nov. 4, Patent Rolls, 13 Charles I., Part 14, Dors. 6,
4 Breviates of the receipt.
1637 TRADING CORPORATIONS. 283
panied, as the Free -Trade measures of our own time were
accompanied, by any intellectual enlargement of the traditional
sphere of thought upon the subject. The Privy Council of
Charles, therefore, not only believed itself to be empowered
by law to establish new corporations with the sole right of
trade, but shared the feelings of a generation which regulated
trade in every possible way. Justices of the peace had long
counted it to be a part of their business to settle the rate of
wages and to keep down the price of food. Inhabitants of
towns petitioning for the erection of a municipal corporation
were in the habit of ascribing all the vice and misery of over-
populated districts to the ' want of governance ' which allowed
each man to come and go, to manufacture or not to manufac-
ture, as he pleased. l It is impossible for any candid person to
read the numerous entries on the subject of trade which crowd
the Register of the Privy Council without coming to the con-
clusion that they were the work of men desirous, perhaps,
here and there to obtain a little fragmentary relief for the
impoverished exchequer, but who were also desirous to have
honest work done at low prices, and who conspicuously failed
in the attempt.
In 1636, for instance, a Corporation of Brickmakers was
established for the benefit of the builders of London. These
men were to make good bricks at the rate of six shillings the
thousand. At the end of three years it was disco-
1636.
The brick- vered that they made very bad bricks indeed, and
that, though they sold them at the stipulated price,
they kept the carriage of them in their own hands and charged
exorbitantly for it. 2
Still more difficult was the task of bringing the London coal
supply to an ideal standard. The owners of the coal ships
The coal were formed into a corporation, and bound them-
shippers. selves to pay one shilling to the King on every
chaldron imported from Newcastle. They also bound them-
selves never to chaige more than seventeen shillings the
' Several petitions state this in the Petition Books at Crowcombe Court.
5 Patent A'ottf, 13 Charles I., Part 7, No. 5. Council Register, April 24,
1639.
84 THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV
chaldron in summer and nineteen shillings in winter. Yet,
strict as were the rules laid down, the coal-shippers gave end-
less trouble to the Government. Again and again there was a
scarcity in the London market, and prices rose in defiance of
the Privy Council. Sometimes blame was attributed to a com-
bination amongst the shippers to delay their vessels on the way
from the North, in order to create an unusual demand, under
the pressure of which they might run up prices in defiance of
their agreement ; sometimes to improper regulations imposed
in the London market ; sometimes to the greed of the retailers.
Yet, in spite of the reasoning and the activity of the Council, it
was only at rare intervals that coals were not above the regula-
lation price in London. 1
The Corporation of Soapmakers, which had caused such
excitement in 1635, 2 underwent a complete change in 1637.
With Tuxon as Treasurer, Laud at last had his way.
1637. J . J
The soap- The company formed of Portland's friends disap-
peared. The old independent soapmakers were
erected into a corporation, buying out their predecessors with
43,ooo/., and agreeing to pay to the King 81. on every ton of
soap manufactured by them. The very men who had raised
the outcry against the search for illicit soap now made exactly
the same use of their monopoly as that of which they had
themselves complained. They constantly applied to the
Council to assist them in the suppression of unauthorised
manufactures, and the Council seldom failed to comply with
their request. 3
The original object of the incorporation of the Soap Com-
pany had been the encouragement of domestic industry. With
j6 35- the same object a company was formed at Shields for
Salt works, the production of salt All port towns from Berwick
to Southampton were ordered to provide themselves with this
salt alone, in place of that which came from the shores of the
1 The State Papers and the Council Register are full of this business.
2 See p. 71.
" Agreement, July 3, 1637, Patent Rolls, 13 Charles I., Part 39,
No. 10. There are also frequent entries relating to the subject in the
Council Register.
1635 TRADING CORPORATIONS. 2*5
Bay of Biscay, and which was at that time regarded as the best
salt in the world. The company was to pay to the King ten
shillings on every wey sold for home consumption, and three
shillings and fourpence on every wey of that coarser sort which
was used by fishermen. 1 Complaints were soon
heard. The owners of the Yarmouth fishing-boats
declared that they could not obtain salt in sufficient quantity,
and that what they did receive was not so good as the old bay
salt had been. 2 The King had a plan of his own to meet the
difficulty. A certain Nicholas Murford had invented a new
method of making salt, and had obtained leave to establish
his works in the neighbourhood of Yarmouth, with special per-
mission to sell his salt in spite of the monopoly of the Shields
manufacturers. An influential company was formed to carry-
out Murford's project. The King interested himself
so deeply in the affair that he granted lands to the
new company. As, however, these lands turned out to be the
property of others, he was compelled to retract his gift. 3
The King's claim to levy impositions on soap and salt may
have received a sort of justification as a mere demand for an
equivalent for the loss of his customs caused by the prohibition
of importation. Other interferences with domestic trade re-
posed simply on the ground that it was the King's business
to see that his subjects were provided with articles of good
quality, though even in these cases he did not disdain to
Starch- make a profit for himself. The Company of Starch-
makers, makers was to take care that good wheaten flour was
not wasted in their unprofitable manufacture. In order that
Maitstersand grain might not be misused in brewing beer unneces-
brewers. sarily strong, all persons except a certain number of
licensed maltsters and brewers were prohibited from making
1 Indenture, Nov. 4, 1635, Patent Rolls, II Charles I., Part 26, No. 4.
* Bailiffs of Great Yarmouth to the Council, Nov. 13 1636, S. P.
Dom. cccxxxv. 51.
3 Grant to Murford and Hanworth, May 25, 1636, Patent Rolls, 12
Charles I., Part 7, No. 6. The King to Went worth and others, Jan. iS.
Wentworth's petition, Feb. 22, 1637. Murford to Sherwood, 1637 (?),
S. P, Dom, cccxliv. 35, cccxlvii. 80, ccclxxvii. 84.
286 THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV.
malt and brewing beer. This last prohibition caused such an
outcry that even Charles gave way before it and threw open the
trade once more. 1
For these encroachments some reason, however unsatisfac-
tory, could, in every case, be alleged. For Charles's interfer-
ence w ^ ^ e wme tra de no reason whatever could
The vint-
ners. be produced. As early as in 1632 a demand
l632 ' was made upon the Vintners in London for a pre-
mium of 4/. per tun. Upon their refusal, it was discovered
j6 that they were in the habit of dressing meat for
sale to their customers, a mode of obtaining money
which was not authorised by their charter. A de-
1635. *
cree of the Star Chamber put a stop to the practice.
At the Council-board the Vintners were urged to be wise in
time. " It is folly in travellers," said Dorset, " to deny their
purses to robbers upon the way, and to draw harm upon
themselves thereby, when they have no sufficient force either
to defend their purses or their own persons." A proposal was
then made that if the Vintners would lend the King 6,ooo/.,
the prohibition should be relaxed for some months, and that
they should then be secured from further molestation. They
paid the money, but the promised security was not forthcoming.
They complained to the Council, but met with no redress.
" Will you not be satisfied," said Arundel, "with the word of a
king ? " Upon this they imagined that they would be allowed
to dress meat, as they had hitherto done. They were at once
called in question. The Attorney-General offered to overlook
the offence for the future if they would pay the King a penny
on every quart of wine sold. On their refusal they were again
prosecuted in the Star Chamber for dressing meat
When the cause was ready for sentence, Alderman
Abell, the Master of the Vintners' Company, came to a bargain
with the King through the interposition of the Mar-
quis of Hamilton. To Hamilton had been granted
the fines which were recoverable in the Star Chamber from
1 Proclamation, July 9, 1637, June 18, 1638; Kymfr, xx. 157, 234.
Appointment of Brewers for Essex, Feb. 28, 1638, Patent Rolls, 13
Charles!., Part 18, No. 6.
1033 THE VINTNERS' COMPANY. 287
the offenders in the matter of dressing meat. He now explained
to the Vintners that he had no wish to ruin so many honest
men, and that it would be far better for them to comply with
the King's wish. His arguments were warmly supported by
Abell, and by Overt, the wretch who had been the main agent
in the ruin of Williams, and who was now currying favour at
Court by providing for the increase of the revenue at the
expense first of the Vintners and ultimately of the consumers
of wine. Before this pressure the unfortunate Company gave
way. They agreed to all that was asked. They were to be
permitted to dress meat and sell beer, and to charge an addi-
tional penny on every quart of wine sold. In return they were
to grant to the King a payment of 2o/. on every tun, or, as was
subsequently settled, a rent of 3o,ooo/. a year. 1 All the vint-
ners in England were compelled by the Council to conform to
the arrangements made with the London Company. Hamilton
obtained 4,ooo/. a year from the rent, and i,5oo/. a year more
was assigned to two members of his family. No doubt Kilvert
had his profit too. 2 Thus the great body of consumers of wine
suffered in order that the King and the courtiers might increase
their profits.
It is not always by the most hurtful actions that
1032.
The growth the greatest discredit is gained. In our eyes nothing
>f London. cou \ft j-^ so i n j ur j ous a s any attempt to limit the
size of London by prohibiting the erection of new houses.
1 Rush-worthy iii. 277. Council Register, March 2, 1635. Garrard to
Wentworth, Jan. 8, 1636. Strafford Letters, i 507. Indenture, Sept. 7,
1638, Patent Rolls, 14 Charles I., Part 18, No. 2. This is no doubt the
indenture assigned by Rushworth to 1634. See also The Vintners' Answer
to some Scandalous Pamphlets, 1642. (E. 140.) "Those of the better
sort which did give their counsel," says the writer of this pamphlet (p. 7),
"did it not with any true liking to the project, but merely to avoid ruin in
the Star Chamber. For the shipwreck of the soap-boilers and others was
then fresh in view ; and that Court had then gotten them the same repute
as a Timariot's horse has in Turkey, where they say no grass ever grows
after the impression of his fatal hoof." The early form of this saying,
which is still current, with a slight change, is curious.
Kilvert's remonstrance, Harl. MSS. 1,219, fol. 3. Grants to Hamil-
ton and others, Patent AV//J, 14 Charles I., Part 9, Nos. 25, 31, 32.
288 THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV.
England was growing in prosperity and wealth, and the effects
01 prosperity were felt in the increase of the population of ttie
capital. In the early part of the reign houses began to spring
up for the accommodation of the new comers, and a new and
fashionable quarter arose in the neighbourhood of Drury Lane.
To provide the requirements necessary for the maintenance of
health would have taken some trouble and some thought. It was
easier to say that no houses should be built than to regulate
the mode in which they were to be erected. At first, indeed,
the anxiety to restrain the increase of buildings gave way before
the desire to fill the exchequer, and fines were readily accepted
in the place of the demolition of houses. When at last a
serious effort was made to check the supposed evil, the initiative
o did not proceed from the King. A petition from the
The London Lord Mayor and Aldermen drew the attention of the
Council to the growing mischief. They alleged that
swarms of beggars were attracted by the new houses. Prices
had risen in consequence of the increasing demand for the
necessaries of life. Many of the houses were built over water-
pipes, and cut off the supply of water. The danger of in-
fection was increased. Soil was carried down to the river, which
threatened to impede navigation. 1
Doubtless something more than pure enthusiasm for the
public good was at work in the minds of the petitioners. The
population within the City looked on the population outside
the City as its rival in trade.
After a year's consideration the Council responded to the
City petition. One valuable suggestion they made, but it was
,6 33 . made only to be dropped. They advised that the
o. 23. streets and alleys which had grown up to the north
Answer of '
the Council, of the Strand should be brought under municipal
government by being divided between the cities of London
and Westminster. For the rest, they simply adopted the
recommendations of the City. In order to ascertain the extent
1 Council Register, Oct. 29, 1632. How strongly the Corporation felt
on this subject is shown by the presentation of a petition to the House of
Commons on June 14, 1642. praying that a Bill mijjht be passed against
new buildings. Common Council Journal Book, xi. 33.
1633 SANITARY DEFECTS. 289
of their legal powers a test case was brought into the Star
Chamber, when Attorney-General Noy argued that though
there was no statute to authorise the demolition of the new
buildings, they might be proceeded against as nuisances under
the common law. Coventry and the two Chief Justices
accepted this doctrine, and orders were given to commence the
demolitions. ' As long as Charles retained authority permission
to build was seldom granted, though in a few exceptional cases
the prohibition was relaxed on payment of a fine.
The natural result was the overcrowding of existing houses.
To provide a remedy householders were ordered to forbear
1637. from taking lodgers. It was not easy to enforce the
to W w r bT d ~ or der. A return made in 1637, when the ravages of
remedied by the plague had frightened the authorities, who were
prohibiting .
lodgers. ignorantly doing their best to promote the dissemi-
nation of disease, shows how little their edicts were observed.
In one house were found eleven married couples and fifteen
single persons. In another the householder had taken in
eighteen lodgers. Even the Company of Freemasons had cut
up their common hall into tenements. 2 The wisest were as
far wrong as the most ignorant. In a report on the
Report of the causes of the plague made by the College of Physi-
ans ' cians, the chief blame is thrown not on restriction,
but on the increase of building, ' by which multitudes of people
are drawn hither to inhabit, by which means both the air is
much offended and provision is made more scarce.' It is true
that this statement is followed by a list of nuisances to be
abated. The sewers and ditches were not properly cleansed.
Ponds which should have been filled up were left to collect
refuse. The streets were not swept as they should be. Lay
'stalls were allowed to remain close to the habitations of man.
Those who died of the plague were buried within the City, and
come of the graveyards were so full that partially decomposed
bodies were taken up to make room for fresh interments. Corn,
meat, and fish unfit for consumption were sold to the poor.
The physicians recommended the erection of a Health Office
1 Council Register, Oct. 23, 1633. Add, MSS. 11,764, fol. 2,
1 Returns, May 1637, S. P. Dom. ccclix.
VOL. VIII. U
290 THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV.
to provide a remedy, a recommendation which no one attempted
to carry into effect. 1
For good or for evil it was dangerous to interfere with the
great City commonwealth. The settlement of the affairs of
!6 3 8. Londonderry, 2 though more favourable to the City
The London- t jj an h a( j been at one time expected, was lone
deny forfeit- '
"> cherished as a deadly grievance. The Irish lands,
settled at the cost of so much labour and capital, were for-
feited to the Crown. The greater part of the fine imposed was
indeed remitted, but i2,ooo/. was exacted for the use of the
Queen, 3 who happened to be in want of that sum. Another
subject of irritation was an arrangement for increasing the
The City tithes due to the City clergy. On the face of the
clergy. matter, Laud, who pushed it on in the Council, had
justice on his side. The tithes by which the clergy were sup-
ported had sunk to a mere pittance through under-valuation of
the property on which they were charged, and Laud insisted on
a more accurate valuation. The citizens regarded his demand
from a very different point of view. If they were illiberal in the
payment of tithes, they had been very liberal in irregular pay-
ments to preachers and lecturers. They liked, however, to
select the recipients of their bounty as Laud would have put
it, to bring the clergy into subservience to themselves, or, as
they would have put it, to take care that their ministers were
not infected by the new ceremonialism.
Collisions between the Council and the City were of
constant occurrence. In 1636 the failure of the proposal to
itf extend the municipal governments of London and
The new Westminster over the districts covered with recent
' buildings was followed by the establishment of a new
corporation for those districts, which, by enforcing the usual
trade regulations, should prohibit the intrusion of persons who
had not served their regular apprenticeship. The citizens of
London regarded the new arrangement with a jealous eye, and
1 The College of Physicians to the Council, Aug (?) 1637, S. P. Dow.
ccclxvi. 78.
* See page 60. .
There is a Privy Seal to this effect
^636 HACKNEY COACHES. 291
a proposal that apprentices who had served their time under
the new corporation should be admitted to trade in the City
found no favour in their sight. 1 The spirit of monopoly was
everywhere vigorous. In 1634, when an enterprising stable-
keeper for the first time sent hackney coaches to
Hackney stand for hire in the streets, many persons held up
coaches. t ne i r hands in horror at the innovation. It was
seriously proposed that no coach should be hired for less than
a three miles' journey, and that unmarried gentlemen should be
forbidden to ride in them except when accompanied by their
parents. 2 The London watermen made objections of a different
kind. They were quite ready to see any number of coaches
driving northwards towards Islington and Hoxton, but they
held it to be intolerable presumption in them to compete with
the wherries on the river by driving from the City to West-
minster. For a time these objections prevailed. In
1636 a proclamation was issued forbidding the
hiring of hackney coaches for a shorter journey than one of
three miles. Too extensive a use of coaches, it was said, would
block up the streets, break up the pavements, and raise the
price of hay. 3 It was not long before it was discovered that
the coaches which had been so severely condemned were not
without their use. Like the vintners, the coachmen
IO37-
applied to Hamilton to license fifty hackney coach-
men for London and Westminster, and as many as he thought
right for other places in England. Hamilton did not grant
these licenses for nothing, 4 but he provided London with
vehicles which were to be hired by all who wished to employ
them.
Another salutary innovation was the establishment of a
1 Charter, June 2, 1636, Patent Kolls, 12 Charles I., Part 20, No. 7.
Proclamation, Nov. 22, 1637, Rymer, xx. 173. Council Register, May 6,
1638.
* Paper of suggestions, May 5, 1634, S. P. Dom. cclxvii. 36.
1 Watermen's Petition, June 1634, S. P. Doni. cclxix. 52 ; Proclama-
tion, June 19, 1636, Rynier, xix. 721.
4 A bundle of these licenses is preserved amongst the Verney Papers
at Claydon.
u a
292 THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV.
post office for the transmission of letters. Hitherto, anyone
who wished to communicate with his friends, and
1635.
The letter- who was not sufficiently wealthy to send his letters
by a private messenger, was obliged to entrust them
to a carrier, who conveyed them over the miry roads at the
rate of sixteen or eighteen miles a day. Under this system, the
few persons who had communications with Scotland or Ireland
were well content if they received an answer within two months.
In 1635 *he Government adopted a proposal for establishing a
regular post on the principal roads. Six days were allowed for
going to Edinburgh and back. The other main routes were
from London to Plymouth, and from London to Holyhead,
cross posts being established to serve the principal towns lying
off the road. The charge for a single letter was twopence for
a distance of eighty miles. 1 By an arrangement with
the King of France and the Cardinal Infant, the
system was extended beyond the Channel, and merchants were
able to send a single letter to Antwerp for eightpence, and to
Paris for ninepence. 2
Like all the Stuart kings, Charles took an interest in those
improvements which were likely to increase the material pros-
1626. perity of the country. In his father's reign there had
Hatfieid" f k een manv P ro j ects f r reclaiming inundated lands,
Chase. but it was not till after his own accession that any-
thing serious was attempted. In 1626 a commencement
was made with Hatneld Chase, where 70,000 acres were
flooded by the rivers which converge to form the Humber. A
Dutchman, Cornelius Vermuyden, skilled in the art of raising
embankments and cutting canals, was brought over from
Holland. Dutch capitalists were induced to provide money
for the venture, and the strong arms of Dutch labourers, not
without some admixture of Flemish refugees and French
Huguenots, were ready to wield the pickaxe and the spade.
The operation was certain to be unpopular amongst the sur-
1 Proposition, June, 5". P. Dom. ccxci. 114 ; Proclamation, July 31,
1635, Kymer, xix. 649.
- Commission, April 5, 1637, Patent Rolli t 13 Charles I., Part 41
Dors. No. 3.
i6a8 HATFIELD CHASE. 293
rounding peasantry. Voices were raised in complaint that
1628. water was being forced over fields which had ones
Workmen been ^ > an< ^ ^ e grievances of landowners were
employed, echoed by the grievances of large numbers without
avowed occupation, who had gathered round the waste grounds,
and who made a livelihood by catching fish and snaring ducks,
as well as by various other contrivances, for the cessation ol
which the undertakers of the works would hardly be able to find
an exact pecuniary compensation. Jealousy of foreigners fanned
the flame of hatred. The embankments were broken through
and the workmen were attacked. The foreigners took up arms
in self-defence, and an Englishman was killed in the
Quarrels
between the struggle. The sheriff of the county restored order,
and'th" 6 and Vermuyden, made wise by experience, offered
to employ native labourers at high wages, and to
compensate those whom he had unintentionally damaged. In
1629 Vermuyden was knighted, and received a grant
of the lands which he had recovered on payment of
a yearly rent, and a fine of i6,ooo/. 1
The old difficulties were not yet at an end. The Govern-
ment found it a hard task to keep the peace. The enthusiastic
The Govern- and quick-tempered Dutch engineer was apt to regard
tempts'to l ^ e English peasants in the light of ignorant and
mediate. selfish obstructives. The peasants looked upon every
accidental injury as a premeditated wrong. At last the whole
dispute was committed to the mediation of Wentworth and
Hutton, the best men for the purpose to be found in England.
After full inquiry, they drew up an award, which was sub-
sequently confirmed by the Court of Exchequer, by which the
rights of the tenants and the commoners were fully protected.
Vermuyden, in dudgeon, parted with his interest. The im-
migrants whom he had employed, about two hundred families
of foreign origin, remained on the soil which they had rescued.
Grass grew, and corn waved, where a few years before Hem y,
1 Hunter, Hist, of the Deanery of Doncaster, i. 160. Ansbie to Buck-
ingham, Aug. 21. Vernatti to St. Giles, Oct. 1628, S. P. Dom. cxiii. 38 ;
cxix. 73.
*94 THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV.
Prince of Wales, had captured a whole herd of deer swimming
in the waters. The neighbours still remonstrated that they
were occasionally deluged by artificial floods ; but when once
the drainage was fully completed the inundations ceased. 1
From another kind of hardship the foreigners found no escape.
They had been permitted to erect a chapel in which they
i6 6 might worship God in their native tongues, and
The foreign- they interpreted that permission as conveying a
peiiedTo licence to use the forms of their native land. Arch-
th" E^ikh bishop Neile was horrified to find that these Dutch-
Church. men an( j Frenchmen had established a Presbyterian
congregation on English soil, that they baptized infants without
a font, and received the Communion without kneeling at the
rail. Neile at once intervened. The strangers were compelled
to dismiss their minister, to pull down their chapel, and to
attend the parish churches of the neighbourhood. 2
The draining of Hatfield Chase was not the only work of
the kind accomplished in England during these years. Many
thousands of acres were reclaimed in Lincolnshire.
1629*
The Great Of all the fens the largest was that known as the
Great Level, which spread round the Isle of Ely over
more than 300,000 acres, covered by the overflow of the Ouse,
the Nen, and the Welland. What was in winter a vast expanse
of water was in summer a drearv swamp. On the damp islets
an ague-stricken population gathered a coarse hay, and cut
the willows which supplied the basket-makers of England.
Wild ducks and wild geese were to be captured by hundreds,
and pike and other fresh water fish were to be had in plenty.
Men who passed half their lives in boats, and who, when they
left their boats, strapped on the long stilts which enabled
them to stride from one piece of dry ground to another, were
terrified when they heard of a coming change. Their scared
feelings were well expressed by words placed in their mouths
by a rhymester of the day.
1 Hunter, i. 162.
2 Neile to Laud, June 23, Sept. 8, 1636 ; Neile's report, S. P. Dom.
cccxxvii. 47, cccxxxi. 71, cccxlv. 85, i. 5.
1 629 DRAINAGE OF THE FENS. 295
Behold the great design, which they do now determine,
Will make our bodies pine, a prey to crows and vermin ;
For they do mean all fens to drain and waters overmaster,
All will be dry, and we must die, 'cause Essex calves want pasture. 1
The first serious attempt to deal with the Great Level was
made in 1629 by the Commissioners of Sewers, a body com-
posed of the neighbouring gentry acting under the
with Ver- authority of the Crown. They entered into a contract
with Vermuyden to drain the level. The proposal
to introduce foreigners was, however, as unpalatable in Lincoln-
shire and Cambridgeshire as it had been in Yorkshire, and the
Commissioners were forced by the public opinion of the district
to rescind the contract. They then urged the Earl
of Bedford to place himself at the head of the work.
On his consent, it was arranged that 95,000 acres of the drained
land should be allotted to him. Of this share, however, he
1631. was to set apart 12,000 for the King, and the profits
Bedford^ f ^ 4> oo were to serve as a security for keeping up
undertaking, the works after their completion. The amount of
land which he was actually to enjoy would therefore be reduced
to 43,000 acres. He divided the undertaking into
twenty shares, and in 1634 the shareholders were
i6 incorporated by Royal Charter. The work pro-
Thecompie- ceeded rapidly, and in October, 1637 the Commis-
tion of the . ,- ~ 1-111 -111
work an- sioners of Sewers decided that it had been com-
nounced. pi e ted, and adjudged the stipulated reward to the
Earl and his associates. 8
The associates, however, were not satisfied. They com-
plained that Bedford had pursued his own interests at their
expense, and threatened him with a prosecution
insufficiently in the Star Chamber unless he treated them more
fairly. 3 Vermuyden too, who had been employed
by Bedford, was equally discontented. Bedford, it was alleged,
had claimed his reward before he had fully carried out his
contract. In summer the reclaimed land was tolerably dry.
1 Dugdale's History of Embanking, 391.
2 Cole, Collection of Laws, xxiii.
* Complaints of the shareholders, Oct. 1637, /far!. AfSS. 5011, fol. 37.
296 THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV.
In winter, the streams swelled as before, and the waters poured
over the level plain. Bedford, it would seem, had done all that
was in his power to do. He had spent ioc,ooo/. on the under-
taking. Yet, unless more was done, his labours would have
been almost in vain. 1
On April 12, 1638, a new body of Commissioners, appointed
1638. for the purpose, opened a session at Huntingdon.
Th^King Whilst they were still sitting, they received from the
ontritlT&e King a letter in which, with his accustomed indiscre
work. tion, he announced that he had formed a decided
opinion that the works were incomplete, and then added that
he was prepared to take them into his own hands. 2 The Corn-
Action of missioners took a personal survey of the works, and
IfonSs of" s ~ obtained verdicts from seven different juries. Upon
sewers. this evidence they declared the drainage to be un-
finished. 3 Whether they were acting under pressure or not,
they were, necessarily, after the reception of the King's letter,
liable to the imputation of doing so. At their next
meeting at Wisbech in May, they imposed a taxation
varying from los. to 40^. an acre, to support the expense of
carrying out the original plan.
The money was to be paid at their next meeting at Hunting-
don in July. 4 Before the appointed day arrived, other voices
Riots in the made themselves heard. Imperfect as it was, Bed-
fens, ford's work had created sore discontent amongst many
of the inhabitants of the district. 6 Landowners complained that
1 This is distinctly stated by Vermuyden, A Discourse touching the
Draining, &c. Compare Dugdale, 411, and the Act of 1649, which shows
that the drained land was even then under water in winter. The accounts
usually given, as for instance in Cole's Collection of Laws ignore this
ground of the King's interference. Wells reprints Cole's objurgations,
though he interlaces them with remarks of his own, conceived in a different
spirit, giving, however, no intimation which are Cole's sentences and
which are his own.
* We have only the abstract of this letter in Cole xxviii. He misdates
it as written in 1639.
1 Inrolments of the laws of sewers, Part I , R. O.
4 Dugdale, 411.
* A pamphlet, the Anti- Projector ; written after 1649, asserts that
1638 THE BEDFORD LEVEL. 297
they were worse off than they had been before his intervention.
The whole tribe of fishermen and willow-cutters proclaimed
themselves grievously wronged. Their commons, as they called
the swamp, had been taken from them, and at the best they
would have to betake themselves to an uncongenial life of hard
agricultural labour. From the moment that the
Commissioners declared against the Earl, a vague
hope spread that the King might be on their side. In May
Bedford's workmen were interrupted by a disorderly
mob. 1 On June 4 the magistrates of the Isle of Ely
were informed that there had been an assemblage of forty or
fifty men, at which it had been resolved to collect at least six
hundred on the following day, on the pretext of a football
match, to destroy the drainage works. Two of the ringleaders
were arrested. The next day was rainy, and only
two hundred persons appeared to begin the work of
destruction. There were more arrests, and the mob was dis-
persed. One of the prisoners gave expression to the thought
which was doubtless present to the minds of all. He would
not leave his commons, he said, till he saw the King's hand and
seal. He would obey God and the King, and no one else, for
they all were but subjects. "What," he asked, "if one might
be inspired to do the poor good, and help them to their
commons again ? " 2
Bedford's grant was illegal ; and that, whereas by the Act of 43 Ehz.
cap. n, a lord of the manor was bound to obtain the consent of the
majority of owners and commoners before commencing drainage works, he
had falsely stated that this had been obtained.
1 Windebank to Peachy, May 16, .i. P. Dom. cccxc. 89.
- Justices of the Peace to the Council, June 9, S. P. Dom. cccxcii. 45.
It is difficult to say what Cromwell had to do with the matter. Sir Philip
Warwick's statement that he threw himself into opposition to the King has
led everyone astray. Probably Warwick, when he wrote his Memoirs,
could not conceive Cromwell as acting except in opposition to the King.
Mr. Forster in his Life of Cromwell has a highly imaginative narrative of
Cromwell's proceedings which has no support in any known evidence. If
Cromwell had really bearded the Court, his name would have appeared on
the Council Register as a prisoner. Mr. Sanford (Studies of the Great
Rebellion, 252) is far more moderate ; but even he suggests that Cromwell
298 THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV.
When the Commissioners met on July 18, it was to declare
their determination to enforce the taxation which they had
July 18. ordered, and to announce that the inhabitants were
XrcommU- to contmue m possession of their lands and common'
sioners. till the drainage was completed. Nor were Bedford
and his partners to have any reasonable cause for dissatisfac-
tion. By the original arrangement, after providing 12,000 acres
for the King and 40,000 to form a provision for the maintenance
of the works, they would have had 43,000 to divide amongst
themselves. They were now offered 40,000 without the obliga-
tion of finishing the works at all. If, as has been said, the annual
value of the reclaimed land was 305. an acre, they would ob-
tain a yearly income of 6o,ooo/. by a capital expenditure of
ioo,ooo/. They had certainly no reason to complain.
The King himself was to undertake the work, receiving
57,000 acres in return. Little was, however, done
to undertake by him. Troubles were coming thickly upon Charles,
and he had neither money nor time to bestow upon
the fens. Possibly he might not have succeeded even under
appeared on behalf of the commoners, ' turning that current of popular
opinion against the King's undertaking, which had been created in order to
facilitate his illegal proceedings; so that the Commissioners, afraid of meet-
ing the opposition of the whole of the parties, made an order to permit the
landholders to take the profits of their lands, and to the generality granied
common of pasture over the whole of the acreage. . . . Both these conces-
sions, without much doubt, were owing to the skilful opposition of Oliver.*
The simple answer to this hypothesis is, that the Commissioners met on
July 18, and that Charles had on July 10 announced his intention of making
these concessions (Bankes to Windebank, July 21, S. P. Dom. cccxcv. 77),
when he can have had no fear of Oliver before his eyes. Nevertheless, it is
highly probable that Cromwell did take the part of these poor men. If he
did so, he must have been on the King's side against Bedford, and not, as is
always asserted, on Bedford's side against the King. This would be the more
creditable to him, as political motives would have drawn him to Bedford,
and his cousin St. John was Bedford's counsel and one of the adventurers.
There is nothing whatever to connect the nickname 'Lord of the Fens'
with these proceedings. It simply occurs as one of the many names for the
leading Parliamentarians in the Metcurius Aulicus of Nov. 6, 1643. Sir H.
Vane appears as ' an old New England man,' Rudyerd as ' a grave senator,'
&c. &c. All that can be meant is, that Cromwell lived in the fens.
1638 BEHAVIOUR OF CHARLES. 399
more favourable circumstances. He selected Vermuyden as his
July 18. engineer, and even then voices were raised to argue that
Vermuyden's ideas were unpractical. Modern engineers have
decided that the objections then brought were of great weight. 1
The story of the first attempt to effect the drainage of the
great fens is worthy of notice by the historian as well as by the
Behaviour of engineer. It brings out into clear relief both the
Charles. merits and the defects of Charles's character. It is
evident that he was anxious to carry out a work of real im-
portance, both when he entrusted it to Bedford and when he
took it into his own hands. It is evident, too, that he desired
both that the rich should be benefited and that the poor should
not be wronged. Yet he gained no credit for his good inten-
tions. He took his decision in private before any inquiry had
been held, and he stultified his Commissioners by announcing
to them his decision just as they were starting to make the in-
quiry upon which it was ostensibly to be based. When all this
parade of investigation ended in the assignment of a large
number of acres to himself, it was easy to leap to the conclusion
that the sole object of the whole proceeding was to fill the
exchequer at the expense of a popular nobleman, whose advo-
cates before the Commissioners were St. John and Holborne,
the very men who had recently been retained by Hampden.
From whatever side Charles's conduct is approached, the
result is the same. He failed because morally, intellectually,
isolation of an< ^ politically he was isolated in the midst of his
cnaries. generation. He had no wish to erect a despotism,
to do injustice, or to heap up wealth at the expense of his sub-
jects. If he had confidence in his own judgment, his confi-
dence was not entirely without justification. He was a shrewd
critic of other men's mistakes, and usually succeeded in hitting
the weak point of an opponent's argument, though it often
happened that, taken as a whole, the argument of his opponents
was far stronger than his own. Especially on theological ques-
tions, he was able to hold' his own against trained disputants.
1 Burrell, Exceptions against Vermuyden's Discourse. " One of the
principal labours of modern engineers has been to rectify the errors of
Veimuyden and his followers." Smiles' Lives of the Engineers, i. 56.
300 THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV.
On all matters relating to art, he was an acknowledged master.
His collection of pictures was the finest and most complete in
Europe. He had that technical knowledge which enabled him
instinctively to distinguish between the work of one painter and
another. He was never happier than when he was conversing
with musicians, painters, sculptors, and architects. He treated
Rubens and Vandyke as his personal friends. But the brain
which could test an argument or a picture could never test a
man. Nothing could ever convince him of the unworthiness
of those with whom he had been in the long habit of familiar
intercourse. Nothing could ever persuade him of the worthi-
ness of those who were conscientiously opposed to hi? govern-
ment. There was no gradation either in his enmity or his
friendship. An Eliot or a Pym was to him just the same
virulent slanderer as a Leighton or a Bastwick. A Wentworth
and a Holland were held in equal favour, and those who were
ready to sacrifice their lives in his cause were constantly finding
obstacles thrown in their efforts to advance his interests through
the King's soft-hearted readiness to gratify the prayers of some
needy courtier.
In his unwarranted self-reliance Charles enormously under-
estimated the difficulties of government, and especially of a
government such as his. He would have nothing
estimates his to say to ' thorough,' because he did not understand
ties ' that thoroughness was absolutely essential. He would
not get rid of slothful or incompetent officials, would not set
aside private interests for great public ends, would not take
the trouble to master the details of the business on which
he was engaged. He thought that he had done everything
in ridding himself of Parliaments, though in reality he had
done but little. He did not see that Parliaments
The local
organisation had roots in the local organisations of the country,
country un- and that, as long as these organisations remained in-
tuc e . tact, they would be ready to blossom into Parliaments
again at the first favourable opportunity. Sheriffs and justices
of the peace, no doubt, were appointed by the King. In his
name they administered justice or executed the directions of
the Council. They were not, however, as the Intendants of the
1638 THE CITY OF LONDON. 301
old French Monarchy or the Prefects of the Empire, entirely
dependent upon the master in whose name they acted. They
were country gentlemen with the same habits of thought, the
same "feelings of independence, as their neighbours around
them. If they collected ship-money, they collected it un-
willingly, and there were few indeed amongst them who did not
sympathise with the gallant resistance of Hampden.
In the towns the local organisation was far more inde-
pendent of the Government than it was in the counties. Such
The City of a c *ty as tnat ^ London, for instance, contained a
London. potential force which it would be hard to beat down.
It was no mere assemblage of individual units, content to store
up wealth, or to secure their daily bread. It had an organisa-
tion of its own, reaching from the highest to the lowest. Its
Lord Mayor, its Aldermen, its Common Council and Common
Hall constituted a municipal republic. Its great merchant
societies were busily engaged in extending the limits of English
commerce in the most distant lands. At home the great
City Companies maintained the traditions of trade and manu-
facture, and looked with a jealous eye on all attempts made
by those outside their pale to participate in their profits. If
the richer merchants were sometimes tempted into subser-
viency by the timidity cf wealth and by the allurements of
such gains as were attainable by a farmer of the Customs, or a
shareholder in one of the new monopolies, the mass of the
citizens had nothing directly to hope or fear from the Crown ;
whilst the habit of participating in the election of those by
whom the affairs of the City were directed, and in the actual
decision of more important questions, inspired them with that
mutual reliance which is the ripest fruit of community of action.
Nor was that action confined to speech and counsel. The
defence of the City was not confided to an army paid and
commanded by the central authority of the State, but to the
trained bands composed of its own citizens. The protection
of life and property was not entrusted to a salaried police.
The citizens themselves kept watch and ward. When trouble
was abroad, when apprentices were likely to be riotous, or when
some unwonted pageant attracted denser crowds than usual
y>2 THE CONSTITUTIONAL OPPOSITION. CH. LXXXIV.
into the streets, the householder was still required, as in days
of remote antiquity, to be answerable for the conduct of every
member of his household, and to pay the penalty for the
wrong-doing of his children and servants. 1
Such a population and if other town corporations were far
behind the capital in wealth and population, they were not far
behind in self-reliance was not likely to endure for
Charles s , . ......
task a hope- ever to be entirely excluded from all participation in
the direction of the national policy, especially as the
freeholders and gentry of the counties were very much like-
minded with the inhabitants of the towns.
" The blessing of Judah and Issachar," wrote Bacon, " will
never meet, that the same people or nation should be both the
lion's whelp and the ass between burdens. . . Although the
same tribute and tax laid by consent or by imposing be all one
to the purse, yet it works diversely upon the courage." From
the wisdom which had dictated these words Charles had gone
very far astray.
Yet it is no matter of surprise that the inevitable resistance
was so long delayed. In the midst of material prosperity there
The revoiu- was no sharp sting of distress to goad the masses to
tion delayed, defiance of authority. Men of property and educa-
tion had, in the intermission of Parliaments, no common centre
round which they could rally. Those who were united in
political opposition to the Crown were divided by their religious
sympathies. The feeling of irritation against Laud's meddle-
some interference with habitual usage was indeed almost
universal ; but Puritanism was, after all, the creed only of a
minority. Many of those who detested the High Commission
most bitterly would be no partners in any violent or revolution-
ary change.
If the nation, however, was not ready to overthrow its
The nation government by force, it was not prepared to make
i"i^u!sl a from anv e ff rt to sustain it. How long this state of things
without. would have endured, if no impulse had come from
without, it is impossible to say. The impulse came from a
1 The Journal Book of the Court of Common Council is full of informa-
tion on these points.
1638 DANGER FROM THE NORTH. 303
quarter from which Englishmen had long ceased to expect
either good or evil. In 1636 Scotland, with its scanty popula-
tion and its hardy poverty, was as seldom mentioned in London
as the Republic of Genoa or the Electorate of Brandenburg.
In 1638 it was in the mouths of all men. Charles had inflicted
on the Scottish nation a blow which it deeply resented, and its
resentment had already led to avowed resistance.
304
CHAPTER LXXXV.
THE RIOTS IN EDINBURGH.
SCOTSMAN as he was by birth, Charles knew even less of his
northern than of his southern kingdom. Since his early
t6 childhood he had only paid one brief visit to Scot-
Charles and land. That visit had witnessed an outburst of dis-
' ots< satisfaction amongst the nobility with that episcopal
government which they had eagerly assisted James to impose
on a Presbyterian Church.
The nobles had discovered that in placing a yoke on the
necks of the clergy they had raised up rivals to themselves.
Everywhere in Scotland the bishops were thrusting
The nobility . . . . . *
and the them aside. The Archbishop of St. Andrews was
Lord Chancellor of Scotland. Other bishops were
members of the Privy Council. Whenever Parliament met
the bishops had in their hands the selection of the Lords of
the Articles, and experience had shown that resistance to the
decisions of the Lords of the Articles was not likely to be
successful. In the country districts the bishops claimed that
respect and submission which the earl or the lord believed to
be due to himself alone. Although Charles had given to the
holders of Church property an indefeasible title to the estates
which their fathers had usurped, and had actually purchased
lands with English money to serve as an endowment for the
revived bishoprics, it was hard for him to allay the suspicion
that he intended sooner or later to re-confiscate to the use of
the Church that which had been confiscated from the Church
by an earlier generation of landowners. The greater part of
the nobility, therefore, hated the bishops thoroughly, and those
1 633 THE SCOTTISH CHURCH. 305
few who did not hate them were not inclined to move a finger
in their behalf. Of all the Scottish lords not one was more
loyal than Lord Napier, the son of the inventor of logarithms.
But he was as intolerant as Rothes or Loudoun of the political
eminence into which the bishops had been thrust "That
bishops have a competence," he wrote, " is agreeable to the
law of God and man ; but to invest them into great estates
and principal officers of the State is neither convenient for the
Church, for the King, nor for the State." '
If Charles could have been content to leave the Scottish
Church as he found it at the time of his visit, it is hardly likely
The Scottish th at ^ e no btes would ever have gathered courage
Church. to res i s t him. It is true that their power over their
tenants was far greater than that possessed by English land-
owners, but it was less than that which had been possessed
by their fathers. The middle classes had been growing in
importance and cohesion, and even the peasants looked for
guidance to their minister rather than to their lord. Till very
recently the bulk of the clergy was tolerably contented. Here
and there was to be found a man who had remained faithful
to the extreme Presbyterianism of a former generation, and
a large number felt the Articles of Perth to be a serious
grievance. But their material comfort had been greatly in-
creased by Charles and his father, at the expense of the neigh-
bouring landowners. The bishops interfered but little with
their parochial ministrations. Above all, they were free to
preach the whole Calvinistic creed, and to fulminate anathemas
against Popery and Arminianism to their hearts' content No
Royal declaration bound them, as it bound the Southern
clergy, to abstain from enlarging on controverted topics. No
canons or rubrics existed which could be quoted as sanctioning
an obsolete ceremonial.
The direction of the Articles of Perth to kneel at the re-
ception of the Communion roused, it is true, no little opposi-
tion. It sometimes happened that when a minister asked the
congregation to kneel, they flocked out of the church, leaving
1 Napier, Memorials of Montrost, i. 70.
VOL. VIII. X
3o6 THE RIOTS IN EDINBURGH, CH. LXXXV.
him alone at the table. 1 But in general, either by the con-
nivance of the bishops at irregularities or by the sub-
Kneeling at . . . . ,
the Com- mission of the congregations, there was less trouble
caused by this injunction than might have been ex-
pected. Here and there, under the shelter of epis-
Varietiesof . . . , ,
doctrine and copal authority, there were even to be found islands
of a faith and practice which contrasted strangely
with the level waters around. The colleges of Aberdeen were
notorious for their adherence to a more tolerant creed than
that of the rest of the clergy. At the King's Chapel at Holy-
rood, at one of the colleges at St. Andrews, and at some of the
cathedrals, the English Prayer Book was used without giving
offence. 2 If matters had been allowed to take their course, it
is just possible, though it is not very probable, that the Church
of Scotland would have been the first to give an example of that
comprehensive tolerance which was the ideal of Chillingworth
and Hales.
Of no such elasticity in practice was Charles at any time
likely to approve. When, in 1633, Laud accompanied the King
to Scotland, he was struck by the mean aspect of
Charles de- *
termines to many of the Scottish churches. Some of them were
Scottish plain square buildings, looking, as he said, very like
pigeon-houses. The galleries inside reminded him
of seats in a theatre. 3 On one occasion, when he found an old
Gothic building thus maltreated, and was told that the change
had been made at the Reformation, he answered sharply that it
was not a reformation, but a deformation. 4
This carelessness about external propriety was no doubt to
j6 be attributed in great part to the prevalence of Cal-
Brereton's vinism. Yet it cannot be altogether dissociated from
the n hab!ts n of that carelessness about the external decencies of life
the Scots. w hich was simply the result of poverty. The Eng-
land of the. seventeenth century was assuredly far behind the
1 This happened at Ayr. Brereton's Travels, Chetham Society, 121.
* Large Declaration, 20. 3 Works, iii. 365.
4 This fling at the ugliness of the Scottish churches is usually quoted
by writers who ought to know better, as if it implied that the Scotch had
been better off under the Pope.
1635 A TRAVELLER IN SCOTLAND. 307
England of our own times in sanitary precautions. An English
traveller who visited Edinburgh in 1635, spoke with amazement
of the filth which was allowed to accumulate even in the best
houses. " This city," he wrote, " is placed in a dainty, health-
ful, pure air, and doubtless were a most healthful place to live
in, were not the inhabitants most sluttish, nasty, and slothful
people. I could never pass through the hall but I was con-
strained to hold my nose ; their chambers, vessels, linen, and
meat nothing neat, but very slovenly." Linen which had been
washed was in much the same state as dirty linen would be in
England. ' To come into their kitchen, and to see them dress
their meat, and to behold their sink ' was ' a sufficient supper,
and ' would ' take off the edge of the stomach.' The writer is
the more to be credited, because in higher matters he is
extremely laudatory. " The greatest part of the Scots," he de-
clares, "are very honest and zealously religious. I observed
few given to drink or swearing ; but if any oath, the most
ordinary oath was ' Upon my soul.' The most of my hosts I
met withal, and others with whom I conversed, I found very
sound and orthodox, and zealously religious. In their demands
they do not so much exceed as with us in England, but insist
upon and adhere unto their first demand for any commodity." l
For all this hard-headed zeal and honesty Charles had no
admiration. His eye did not penetrate beneath the external
!6 34 . crust of Scottish life. To him, as to Laud, a Re-
~, M i. y . J 3; formation which had produced churches so ill- built,
The King s _ r
intentions, and 3. ritual so unadorned, was no better than a
deformation. The long extemporary prayers of the ministers
annoyed him, as they have annoyed many an Englishman
since. 2 For all this he had a fitting remedy. "We," he wrote
to the Scottish bishops soon after his return to England, " ten-
dering the good and peace of that Church by having good and
decent order and discipline observed therein, whereby religion
and God's worship may increase, and considering that there is
nothing more defective in that Church than the want of a Book
of Common Prayer and uniform service to be kept in all the
1 Brtreton's Travels, IO2, 106, no. * Large Declaration, 15.
X 2
3o8 THE RIOTS IN EDINBURGH. CH. LXXXV.
churches thereof, and the want of canons for the uniformity of
the same, we are hereby pleased to authorise you as the repre-
sentative body of that Church, and do herewith will and require
you to condescend upon a form of Church service to be used
therein, and to set down canons for the uniformity of the dis
cipline thereof." l
Officially, no doubt, the bishops might be held to be 'the
representative body of that Church.' Of the religious heart and
The bishops soul of Scotland they were in no sense the represen-
Church tatives. Even in relation to the organisation of the
courts. Church, their position was very different from that of
their English brethren. An English bishop had the Church
courts at his disposal. The churchwardens, as English Puritans
bitterly complained, were bound by oath tc present offenders
against Church law before authorities entirely independent of
the parishioners. In Scotland, the episcopal jurisdiction had
taken no such deep root. In the general management of eccle-
siastical affairs the bishops had taken the place of the Assembly,
but the local management of parochial affairs was still in the
hands of elected officers. Deacons were chosen by the parish-
ioners to take charge of the provision for the poor, and elders
to take cognisance of moral faults committed by members of
the congregation. The deacons and elders held weekly meet-
ings with the ministers to consult on the affairs of the parish.
Acts of immorality were punished, as in England, by exposure
on the stool of repentance in the face of the congregation.
Persons loitering in the streets, or tippling and gaming during
service time, were sent to prison. 2
In this way the Scottish middle class received its political
education. Men learned to act together in the Church courts,
where they were not over-shadowed, as they were in their single
1 The King to the Bishops, May 13, Sprott's Scottish Liturgies,
Introd. xlviii. Compare Keble's feeling when he visited Scotland. "The
kirks, and the manner in which they defile and insult the sacred places,
e.g. Jedburgh Abbey, are even more horrid than I had expected. I would
not be in one of them at service time on any consideration. They proclaim
aloud, every inch of them, Down with the altar ! ' " Coleridge, Memoir
of Keble, 350. * Brereton's Travels ; 106.
1634 THE NEW PRAYER BOOK. 309
House of Parliament, by great lords and ministers of State. It
Political was not an education which would encourage variety
the middie f ^ character. The established principles of morality
class. an d religion were taken for granted in every discus-
sion. But if the system bred no leaders of thought, it bound
man to man in an indissoluble bond.
Such courts necessarily placed themselves in opposition to
the bishops, who were every year becoming more distinctly the
instruments of Laud. As the bishops of the stamp
position to of Patrick Forbes died, they were succeeded by men
after Laud's own heart, such as Wedderburn and
Sydserf. Yet, even these men would hardly have entered on a
hopeless struggle with the popular feeling, but for the urgency
of Laud. Laud, indeed, was far too strong an advo-
thVscottish cate of ecclesiastical propriety, to attempt to in-
terfere as Archbishop of Canterbury with the Scottish
Church. If, however, the King asked his advice as a private
person, he saw no reason why he should decline to give it. Nor
did he see any reason why he should not convey the King's
directions to the Northern prelates, if Charles asked him to do
so. He therefore conveyed instructions to the bishops as if
he had been the King's secretary, remonstrated with proceed-
ings which shocked his sense of order, and held out prospects
of advancement to the zealous. Scotchmen naturally took
offence. They did not trouble themselves to distinguish be-
tween the secretary and the Archbishop. They simply said
that the Pope of Canterbury was as bad as the Pope of Rome.
In the meanwhile, preparations for applying a remedy to
the evils which were supposed to afflict the Church of Scotland
were strenuously urged on in London. A draft of
The canons the new canons was submitted by the King to Laud
Prayer' and Juxon, and a draft of the new Prayer Book to
Laud and Wren. The alterations proposed were
forwarded to Scotland for the approval of the Scottish bishops ;
but the brain which had conceived them was that of the restless
Archbishop of Canterbury.
The canons authorised in 1635 were issued in the follow-
ing year. In them is to be discerned an attempt to bridge over
310 THE RIOTS IN EDINBURGH. CH. LXXXV.
the gap between the bishops and the parochial courts. There
i6 6 were to be diocesan and national synods ; and such
issue of the synods, if fairly constituted and fairly treated, might
have gone far to keep the existing constitution of
the Church in working order. But the mode in which these
canons were issued was in itself an unmistakable intimation
that Charles had no intention of seriously consulting either the
clergy or the laity. They came forth to the world on the
Royal authority alone. Even High Churchmen in the next
generation shook their heads at the slight shown to the Church.
Two or three of the bishops had been privately consulted on
the matter, and that was all. 1
The canons thus sent into the world contained some good
advice. Ministers were directed to abstain from long and
tedious sermons, and to inculcate the duty of righteousness of
life as well as that of doctrinal orthodoxy. Other commands
there were, which no one who had the slightest respect for the
feelings of Scotchmen would have thought of inserting. The
communion-table was to be placed ' at the upper end of the
chancel or church.' Though ' sacramental confession and abso-
lution ' had in some places been abused, all who felt their con-
sciences burdened were to be encouraged ' to confess their
offences to the bishop or presbyter.' In every department of
ministerial work the minister was to be strictly subordinated to the
bishop, and above the bishops stood the King, whose authority-
was to be exercised in all ecclesiastical causes in the same way
as that which ' the godly kings had among the Jews, and the
Christian emperors in the Primitive Church.' The Prayer
Book, as yet unpublished, was already placed under the guar-
dianship of the law of the Church. To assert that it contained
' anything repugnant to the Scriptures,' or that it was ' corrupt,
superstitious, or unlawful,' was to incur excommunication.*
Like the canons, the Prayer Book was submitted to no
ecclesiastical body whatever. 3 Of the few bishops who had
1 Burton, Hist, of Scotland, vi. 397.
2 Canons, Laud's Works, v. 583.
' For the earlier history of this Prayer Book, see Vol. VII. p. 282.
1636 THE NEW PRAYER BOOK. 311
been consulted, not one had any knowledge of the temper of
The Prayer the nation ; and one of them, Wedderburn, Bishop
liked* as*" ^ Dunblane, had spent many years of his life in
Popish. England. He strongly advocated the omission, from
the sentences spoken at the administration of the Communion,
of the clauses which owed their origin to the second Prayer
Book of Edward VI. These clauses, he said, seemed ' to relish
somewhat of the Zwinglian tenet that the Sacrament is a bare
sign, taken in remembrance of Christ's passion.' This argu-
ment, as a mere matter of reasoning, may have been good
enough. The clauses from the first Prayer Book of Edward VI.
which he proposed to retain lent themselves easily to the Cal-
vinistic doctrine of a real, though spiritual, presence. What was
wanting to Wedderburn was the imaginative eye which could
see beyond the shelves of his episcopal library to the manses of
the country clergy, and the ability to discover that any un-
necessary change was certain to arouse suspicion. 1 Nothing
can be more unfair than to argue that the authors of this un-
lucky liturgy had any intention of approximating to the Roman
ritual ; but they could hardly have given greater offence if
they had introduced the missal at once. If the old forms of
prayer contained in Knox's Book of Common Order were to be
abolished, it was only natural that a bewildered people, who
had not even been consulted on the subject, should ask them-
selves what was the hidden object with which the change had
been made.
Other alterations, slight in themselves, pointed in the same
direction as the omission of the strongly Protestant clauses in
The Prayer the administration of the Communion. Another
Hkdai is " defect was almost equally fatal. Whether the book
English. was Popish or not, there could be no doubt that it
was English. It had been touched and re-touched by English
hands. The knowledge that this had been the case was enough
to make it odious in Scotland. Even if the gift offered by Laud
1 Laud's Works, iii. 357. Wedderburn, however, was not the first to
originate the proposal. It is acted upon in the MS. corrections, probably
made in 1628, to a Prayer Book now in the British Museum. Egerton
MSS. 2417.
312 THE RIOTS IN EDINBURGH. CH. LXXXV.
had been one of priceless value, it would have been dashed
scornfully aside.
In such a cause, the clergy and their congregations were
certain to be of one mind. Here and there, no doubt, there
The mode- were a ^ ew men w ^ h'ke Robert Baillie, of Kil-
rates. winning, had done their best to fit themselves into
the scheme of Church government which existed around them,
whilst keeping themselves as much as possible aloof from bishops
on the one side, and from fanatics on the other. It was pre-
cisely men of this class that Charles was doing everything in his
power to alienate. Yet there is every reason to believe that
neither Charles nor Laud had any conception that the new
Prayer Book would meet with any serious opposition. It has
sometimes been asked whether Charles was urged on by love of
despotism or love of religion. It does not need much know-
ledge of his character to see that neither of these formed the
motive power. What he was doing he did from a love of order,
combined with sheer ignorance of mankind. He could see
nothing in the book but the decent comeliness of its arrange-
ments and the well-chosen suitability of its expressions. 1
To the very last, Laud thought more of polishing the lan-
guage of the Prayer Book than of securing for it a favourable
o. 18. reception. It was printed and reprinted, till it seemed
enforce the to ^ ave reac hed typographical perfection. In Octo-
useofthe her i6t6, Charles wrote to the Privy Council inform-
Prayer
Book. ing them that, 'having taken the counsel of his clergy/
he thought fit that the book should 'be used in God's
public worship.' In December a proclamation ordered
every parish to adopt it, and to procure two copies of it before
the following Easter. 2
1 One of the parts of the book which gave offence was the direction
for the position of the minister at the consecration. See Burton, Hist, of
Scotland, vi. 424. The book at Lambeth, which has Laud's annotations,
diflers from the Scottish book in directly ordering the eastward position.
Possibly, though the handwriting is Laud's, the suggestion may have been
Wren's.
2 The King to the Council, Oct. 18, Balfour, ii. 224. The Preface to
the Prayer Book.
l6j? RECEPTION OF THE BOOK. 313
Easter came, and still the book was not ready. Rumours
were rife that it had been seen in England, and that it differed
j6 from the English Prayer Book ' in addition of sundry
Delay in its more Popish rites.' Others whispered that it was
nce ' merely the Mass in disguise. As time went on, the
impending danger grew more terrible in its vagueness. Yet it
is worthy of notice that there was as yet no thought of resist-
ance. The utmost to which extreme Puritans ventured to
aspire was permission to form themselves into a nonconformist
body, worshipping apart with the connivance of the Govern-
ment 1
At last, in the spring of 1637, the long-dreaded volume
reached Scotland. In May every minister received orders to
buy two copies on pain of outlawry. The bishops,
it reaches though they had never consulted their synods on the
preparation of the book, now called them together
to urge them to obedience. Openly no word of resistance was
heard. It was hard for a single minister to expose himself
to certain ruin. But in private men spoke their minds more
freely. The Book, they said, was more Popish than the
English one. It had no authority either from Assembly or
Parliament. The Scottish Puritan feeling and the Scottish
national feeling were rising higher every day.
It was hardly likely that the temper thus aroused would be
suffered to die away for lack of leadership. Though, with one
Temper of or two brilliant exceptions, the Scottish nobles of
the nobility. t h at <jay were not remarkable for ability, they had
the habit of authority which had long been lost by the English
Peers, and they would ill brook the continuance of a system
which placed the bishops above their heads. It is easy to
speak of the zeal of men like Rothes and Loudoun as sheer
hypocrisy. It is far more likely that they felt strongly in a
direction in which it was their interest to feel strongly. Men
of advanced age could indeed remember that the yoke of Pres-
bytery had once been as heavy as the yoke of Episcopacy. Men
who were even of middle age knew nothing of Presbyterianism
1 BaillU, i. 4,
JT4 THE RIOTS IN EDINBURGH. CH. LXXXV.
except by report. They saw the bishops outvying them in
the Royal favour, and reducing them to comparative insignifi-
cance even on their own estates. Whatever religious feeling
was in them had been nurtured through the old Calvinistic
doctrine, and jealousy for the national honour of Scotland
burnt in them as strongly as in their tenants and dependents.
It is impossible to say with certainty what truth there may
be in the story that a meeting in which some of the malcontent
June. nobles took part with the leading clergy and a few
meetm d at ^ ' tne devouter sex,' was held in Edinburgh for the
Edinburgh, purpose of organising resistance. 1 Attachment to
tried religious forms is always stronger in women than in men,
and it may well be that some of the Edinburgh ladies stirred
up the indignation of the fishwives and serving-women of the
city. But no mistake would be greater than to imagine that
they created the spirit which they directed. The insult to the
Scottish nation and the Scottish Church was one to kindle re-
sentment in the humble and the exalted alike.
July 23 was at last fixed as the day on which the patience
of the citizens of Edinburgh was to be put to the test, in the
hope that the submission of the capital would fur-
July 23. l
The reading nish an example to the rest of the country. The con-
30 ' fidence felt by the bishops received a rude shock.
At St. Giles', recently erected into the Cathedral Church of the
new diocese of Edinburgh, a large number of maid-servants
were gathered, keeping seats for their mistresses, who were in
the habit of remaining at home till prayers were over and the
preacher was ready to ascend the pulpit. The Dean opened
The tumult tne book and began to read. Shouts of disappro-
in St. Giles', bation from the women drowned his voice. " The
Mass," cried one, "is entered amongst us!" "Baal is in the
church ! " called out another. Opprobrious epithets were
applied to the Dean. Lindsay, the Bishop of Edinburgh,
ascended the pulpit above the reading desk, and attempted
to still the tumult. He begged the noisy zealots to desist from
1 The story comes from Guthry's Memoirs, 23. It was written down
after the Restoration, and is certainly inaccurate in its details.
1637 THE SERVICE AT ST. GILES 1 . 315
their profanation of holy ground. The words conveyed an idea
which was utterly abhorrent to the Puritan mind, and the
clamour waxed louder under the ill-judged exhortation. A
stool aimed by one of the women at the Bishop all but grazed
the head of the Dean. At this final insult Archbishop Spottis-
woode called on the magistrates to clear the church of the
rioters. The noisy champions of Protestantism were with
much difficulty thrust into the streets, and the doors were
barred in their faces. They did not cease to knock loudly
from without, and to fling stones at the windows. Amidst the
crash of broken glass, the service proceeded to the end. One
woman, who had remained behind unnoticed, stopped her ears
with her fingers to save herself from the pollution of the
idolatrous worship, whilst she read her bible to herself.
Suddenly she was roused by a loud Amen from a young man
behind her. " False thief ! " she cried, dashing her bible in
his face, " is there no other part of the kirk to sing Mass in,
but thou must sing it in my lug ? " When the doors were at
last thrown open, and the scanty congregation attempted to
withdraw, the crowd outside dashed fiercely at the Bishop.
But for the intervention of the Earl of Wemyss, he would
hardly have escaped alive.
Such Privy Councillors as could be hastily convened gave
immediate orders to the magistrates to protect the afternoon
The after- service. Guards were marched to the church, and a
noon service. se j ect f ew were alone permitted to enter. Special
directions were given that no woman should be allowed to
pass the doors. The Earl of Roxburgh drove the Bishop home
in his coach amidst a shower of stones. His footmen were
obliged to draw their swords to keep off the mob. 1
1 Setting aside later narratives, we have two contemporary accounts to
rest on, one from the King's Large Declaration, the other, written in a
violent Puritan spirit, printed in the Appendix to Rothes' Proceedings.
On the whole they agree very well together. Both agree that only one
stool was thrown. The tradition which names Teanie Gedcles as the
heroine of the day has long been abandoned. See Burton's History of Scot-
land, vi. 443. Long afterwards Wodrow stated that it was ' a constant
believed tradition that it was Mrs. Mean, wife to John Mean, merchant,'
I e. shopkeeper, ' of Edinburgh, that cast the first stool.' He thought that
316 THE RIOTS IN EDINBURGH. CH. LXXXV.
The next day the Council met. It can hardly be doubted
that its lay members sympathised heartily with any kind of
July 24. resistance to the bishops. Sir Thomas Hope, the
SurJciT^ Lord Advocate, is said to have been one of those
sir T.Hope, who instigated the disturbance. Lord Lome, the
Lome. heir of the Catholic Earl of Argyle, a man of
scheming brain and consummate prudence, is not likely to
have gone so far. But he shared in the prevalent feeling, and
had recently come to high words with the Bishop of Galloway
on the subject of the imposition of fine and imprisonment
on one of his followers by the High Commission. ' For the
present, however, the guidance of affairs rested in the hands
of the Lord Treasurer, the Earl of Traquair. In
after times Traquair was accused of playing a double
game. It is more probable that he had no sympathy with either
party. A cool and wary man of business, immersed in the
details of government, he fell a victim to his attempt to play
the moderator in the impending collision of fanaticisms. He
had opposed the bishops when they attempted to force their
own ideas on an unwilling Church, especially as he had reason
to believe that one of their number, Bishop Maxwell, was
intriguing to supplant him as Treasurer of Scotland. But by
instinct and position he disliked the domination of a mob,
and especially of a mob with clerical backers. Such a man
was capable of conveying words of common sense to Charles's
ear, though it was most improbable that they would ever
penetrate to his mind.
The Council, in appearance at least, took instant measures
to carry out the King's wishes. Six or seven of the rioters were
Action of the arrested. The Edinburgh ministers were assured
authorities. tnat tn y m jght read the prayers without danger, and
the magistrates were ordered to protect them in so doing. As
far as words could go, the Council had done its duty. Words,
many stools were thrown, and that ' many of the lasses that carried on the
fray were prentices in disguise, for they threw stools to a great length.' If
so, the prentices must have been singularly incapable of taking a good aim
at the Bishop's head. Gordon's account is a mere copy of the Declaration
with a few additions. ' ai.'lu, i. 1 6.
1637 LUKEWARMNESS OF THE COUNCIL. 317
however, would not suffice. Some of the ministers had no
wish to read the book, and those who were willing to read the
book did not wish to risk being torn in pieces by the mob.
They declared that they had no confidence in the power of
the magistrates to preserve order, and it is not unlikely that
most of the councillors were of the same opinion. At Spottis-
woode's motion, both the old and the new forms of prayer
were suspended in Edinburgh till the King's pleasure could be
known. The sermons were to be delivered as usual. 1
The King was not likely to be satisfied with such timidity.
Of the difficulties of his representatives in Scotland he under-
stood nothing. He ordered strict measures of re-
Dissatisfac- . 1.1 TT r 1.1
tionofthe pression to betaken. He forgot to inquire whether
the Government had force enough at its disposal to
enable it to carry out his orders. As soon as the magistrates
attempted to do as they were bidden they found that the
rioters had all Edinburgh at their backs. The Privy Council
gave to the magistrates but a lukewarm support. Its lay
members threw the blame on the bishops. The bishops threw
it back on the laymen. Laud, writing by the King's
i.aud's view orders, distributed it equally between both. He
iccase. scou t e( j fa e j(j ea o f abandoning the Prayer Book
because a band of secret conspirators had hounded on an
unruly mob against it. " It was unworthy of the bishops," he
said, " to disclaim the book as their own. It was their work,
and it was for them to support it." " Will they now," he added,
" cast down the milk they have given because a few milkmaids
have scolded at them ? I hope they will be better advised." 2
It was easy to write thus in the safe privacy of Lambeth :
but it was hard to obey the command at Edinburgh. The
magistrates stated plainly that no one would read
August 19.
Failure to the service on any conditions. They had offered a
enforce the j ar g e sum o f mon ey to anyone who would do so,
orders. | 3ut none ^ad been found sufficiently hardy to accept
the offer. 3
1 Baillie, i. 18, 447. Gordon, Hist, of Scots Affairs, i. 12.
2 Laud to Traquair, Aug. 7, Works, vi. 493.
* The Magistrates to Laud, Aug. 19, Large Declaration, 28.
3i 8 THE RIOTS IN EDINBURGH. CH. LXXXV.
The viragoes of St. Giles' were backed by the population
of Edinburgh. If Edinburgh were backed by Scotland Charles
would have work enough before him. A threat of outlawing
the ministers who had refused to purchase their two copies of
the Prayer Book put the feeling of the country clergy to the
test Petitions drawn up in due legal form began to drop in
upon the Council. The only one which has reached
Aug. 23. r *
Henderson's us was drawn up by Alexander Henderson, Minister
of Leuchars. Its wording carried the controversy
out of the region of passion into the region of argument.
Henderson descended into the strife as a champion worthy of
a great cause. He had not leapt forward impatiently to testify
his displeasure at the proceedings of the bishops. He had
not been hasty to judge the practice of kneeling at the Com-
munion as altogether evil. The time had now come when it
behoved every honourable man who believed, as he believed,
in the old Scottish creed, to lift up his voice on behalf of his
Church and nation. Henderson would not be the more likely
to hang back in the end, because his protest was studiously
moderate now. He did not say, as so many others were
saying, that the new Prayer Book was actually Popish, but he
professed his readiness to argue that it contained matters ' far
from the form and worship and reformation ' of the ' Kirk,'
and ' drawing near in material points to the Church of Rome*
It was not in this reasoning, however, that the main stress of
his argument lay. The old form of worship, he said, had been
recognised by Assembly and Parliament. The new form of
worship had been recognised by neither. Further, the Church
of Scotland was free and independent. Its own pastors knew
best what was suitable to their people, who ' would be found
unwilling to the change when they should be assayed.' '
In these sober words Henderson raised a standard of re
sistance for the Scottish people. He did not plead
Henderson's the cause of Presbyterianism against Episcopacy.
He simply announced that the religion of a people
was under its own guardianship.
Charles was in a great strait. Humiliating as it would have
1 Supplication, Baillie, i. 449.
1637 CHARLES ASKED TO FIND A REMEDY. 319
been if his authority in Scotland had alone been at stake, a
frank acknowledgment of his mistake would doubt-
Charles .
cannot draw less have been his wisest course. The shock which
his authority would receive could not, however, be
limited to Scottish ground. What was true in Scotland was
also true in England, and the artificial edifice of the Laudian
Church would feel the blow struck at the house of cards which
had been built up beyond the Tweed. Nor was it easy to
persuade Charles that the riot in Edinburgh had been a
genuine result of popular indignation. He saw in it only the
concealed hands of the angry nobles, grasping at Church lands
and at the dignities worthily accorded to men who were better
than themselves.
How was Charles to procure obedience in Scotland ?
Military force he had none, and the Scottish Council was likely
Aug. 23. to yield him but a half-hearted support, even if it
Ide e s no"" '' yielded him any support at all. Only in five or six
support him. places was the Prayer Book read. When Henderson
appeared before the Council he was accompanied by a crowd
of gentry. Letters which poured in from distant parts left no
doubt that the feeling in his favour was not confined to the
neighbourhood of the capital. Even if the Council had been
willing to take severe measures, it would have been helpless tc
overcome resistance. Henderson was told that he had been
ordered to buy the books, not to read them. "We
The"if letter found ourselves," wrote the Council to Charles, " fai
to the Kmg. ^y QUr ex p ec t a tions surprised with the clamours and
fears of your Majesty's subjects from almost all the parts and
corners of the kingdom, and that even of those who otherways
had heretofore lived in obedience and conformity to your
Majesty's laws, both in ecclesiastical and civil business, and
thus we find it so to increase that \ve conceive it to be a matter
of high consequence in respect of the general murmur and
grudge in all sorts of people for urging of the practice of the
Service Book, as the like hath not been heard in this kingdom."
They could therefore only leave it to his Majesty, 'in the
deepness of his Royal judgment, to provide a remedy.' l
1 Act of Council, Aug. 25. The Scottish Council to the King, Baiilu,
520 THE RIOTS IN EDINBURGH. CH. LXXXV.
Charles had no remedy to provide. He sent back a scold-
ing answer, in which he found fault with everyone except him-
Sept 12. se ^' ano - or dered the immediate enforcement of the
Charles's use of the Prayer Book. No magistrates were to be
allowed to hold office in any borough who would not
give their support to the new service. 1
In Edinburgh a few partisans of Charles's ecclesiastical
system were still to be found amongst the official class. Sir
Sept. 18. John Hay, the Clerk Register, was thrust as Provost
The new upon the unwilling townsmen. Nowhere else was
Provost of
Edinburgh, such an arrangement possible. " If it were urged,"
wrote Baillie, "we could have in all our towns no magistrates
at all, or very contemptible ones." 2 Those ministers who in any
General re- place tried to read the book were roughly handled,
sistance especially by the women. When the Council met
to take the King's last letter into consideration, it was evident
that nothing could be done to carry out his orders. Petitions
poured in from every quarter. Twenty noblemen, with a crowd
of gentlemen and ministers in their train, appeared
to enforce by their presence the language of the
petitions. 3 The Council could but assure Charles that they
had done their best, sending him, at the same time, the
petitions, sixty-eight in number, for his perusal. 4
Before long there was worse news to be told. The new
Provost had attempted to hinder the town from sending in a
Sept. 25. petition against the Prayer Book. An angry mob
Second riot burst into the Tolbooth, where the Town Council
in Edin-
burgh. W as in session. "The Book," they shouted, "we
will never have." They forced the magistrates to promise that
the petition should be sent. This second entry of the mob
upon the scene shocked some even of those who had no love
for the bishops "What shall be the event," wrote Baillie,
" God knows. There was in our land never such an appear-
i. 449, 451. Traquair to Hamilton, Aug. 27. Burnet, Lives of the Duktt
of Hamilton, ii. 18.
1 The King to the Council, Sept. 12, Baillie, i. 452.
4 Ib^d. i. 25. ' Rothes, 7. Baillie, i. 33.
* The Council to the King, Sept. 20,' 'Baillie, i. 453.
1637 POPULAR FEELING. 321.
ance of a stir. The whole people thinks Popery at the doors
. . . No man may speak anything in public for the King's
part, except he would have himself marked for a sacrifice to
be killed one day. I think our people possessed with a bloody
devil, far above anything that ever I could have imagined,
though the Mass in Latin had been presented. The ministers
who have the command of their mind do disavow their un-
Christian humour, but are no ways so zealous against the devil
of their fury as they are against the seducing spirit of the
Bishops." 1
If such was the language of a Scottish minister, what must
have been Charles's indignation ? The courtiers at Whitehall
Persistence might persuade themselves that but for Laud's inter-
of Charles, ference he would have given way. 2 It is far more
likely that, whether Laud had been there or not, he would have
persisted in the course which he believed to be the course of
duty. " I mean to be obeyed," were the words which rose to
his lips when he was interrogated as to his intentions. 3
Even Charles, however, could see that he could not expect
to be obeyed at once. He must postpone, he wrote, his answer
Oct. 9 . on the main subject of the petitions. For the present,
S>ns d to e the tnere fb re > the Council were to do nothing in the
Council. matter of religion ; but they must try to punish the
ringleaders of the late disturbances, and they must order all
. strangers to leave Edinburgh on pain of outlawry. 4
and the Another letter directed the removal of the Council
Session tobe and the Court of Session first to Linlithgow, and
afterwards to Dundee. 5
If Charles had had no more than a riot to deal with, it
would have been well that the offending city should learn that
the lucrative presence of the organs of government and justice
1 Baillie, i. 23.
2 Correr to the Doge, Sept. 'J
25, ct. 2
1 Con to Barberini, Oct. ^, Add. MSS. 15,390, fol. 453.
* The King to the Council, Oct. 9, Balfotu; ii. 23.
* This letter has not been preserved, but is referred to in a subsequent
proclamation.
VOL. VIII. Y
32? THE :RIOTS IN EDINBURGH. CH. LXXXV.
could' only be secured "by submission to the law. "Because he
had more than a riot-to deal with, his blow recoiled on himself.
H,e had chosen to fling a defiance in the face of the Scottish-
nation, and he must take the consequences. .
.;.-. When; these letters arrived in Edinburgh the petitioners)
had returned to their homes, not expecting so speedy an answer.;
Johnston of But they had 'eft behind the shrewdest of lawyers,
Warriston. Archibald Johnston of Warriston, and Johnston at
-oit. i - - onpe S ave the alarm., On October 17 they were back
Theprocia- again, black-gowned ministers and gay noblemen,
manor*. . . waitmg for what m ight. befall. "In the evening the
substance of the King's prders was proclaimed from that Market
Cross ' where, according to legend, a ghostly visitant had taken
his stand to summon .Charles's ancestor from the field of
Flodden to the judgment-seat of G6d. The simple officer
who read the formal words of the proclamation was as truly
the ^messenger 0f ill- to Charles. He was pointing to the track
which led. to the battle-field, the prison, and the scaffold.
The next morning all Edinburgh was astir. The city had
not, like London, an independent commercial life of its own^
Oct. 18, To lose the Council and the Court of Session was to
TV third dwindle to the insignificance of a provincial town.
not 'at tdm- r
burgh. The inhabitants, whose very means of livelihood was
at. stake, raved against the bishops as the cause of the mischief.
Bishop Sydserf, of Galloway, who was : /.reported to wear a
crucifix beneath his dress;. was driven by .'an angry crowd to
Jake refuge in the council house. Another crowd surrounded
the magistrates, and insisted on their joining in a protest. The
magistrates, glad to escape with their lives, did all that was
required. The mob still thronged the streets, shouting, "God
defend all Jhose who will defend God's cause, and God confound
the service book and all the maintainers of it." Traquair came
out to quell the tumult. Hustled and thrown down,' he
struggled back with loss of hat and cloak, as Well as of" his
white rod of office. Sydserf was still a prisoner in the council
house. The Provost declared that he was unable to help him,
.-:;::- vi.; :. :i '. ~vv;.- .,.../ l _ . ' ... t iv. -.;. i :.-.;; ..' :-'.
1 Proclamations, Oct. I J, Large Defloration, 33. ' I
1637 -M THE.. GENERAL SUPPLICATION. 323
No one else Ventured: to move a finger in his behalf. One
course, dishonourable 1 as, it was, remained to be tried. The
noblemen and gentry who had been ordered the day before tp
leave Edinburgh were sitting in consulation on the best way of
opposing the King's. orders. To them the King's Council sent,
.begging them to use their influence with the enraged multitude.
What the King's representatives were powerless to effect^ his
opponents did with, the greatest ease. The Lord Provost of
Edinburgh and the whole body of the Privy Council, including
the fugitive bishop, only reached their homes under the pro-
tection of the men who were treated as rebels by their master. '
Forty-one years earlier, Charles's father had quelled a Pres-
Contrast bytcrian riot by the removal of the Council and the
chTr^rand Court of Session from Edinburgh. He had been
his father. aD i e to do so because he had the nobility and the
country at large on his side. The men who guarded his coun-
cillors through the streets were no longer as their fathers had
been on the side of the King against the capital.
The reply of the petitioners was a general supplication, in
which the bishops were pointed at as the authors of the calami-
The General ties of the Church. Charles was asked to allow them
Supplication. to b e p ut on theij- trial, and, as they were now parties
in the case, to prohibit them from sitting in the Council as judges
of matters relating to the present dispute. 2
The petitioners had thus changed their defence into an
attack. Not we, they said in effect, but the bishops are the
breakers of the law. The demand that the bishops
Thepetition- . . .
ers assume should not be judges in their own case was the same
as that which, four months before, had been received
with derision when it proceeded from the lips of Bastwick in
the English Star Chamber. In the heat of discussion before
the Council, Bishop Sydserf and Sir John Hay threw out a
suggestion which had unexpected consequences. Why should
not the mass of the petitioners return home, leaving behind a
1 Rothes, 19. Large Declaration, 35. Gordon again simply borrows
from the Declaration. It is quite a mistake to treat him, as Mr. Burton
does, as an original authority for these events.
* Large Declaration, 42.
Y 2
324 THE RIOTS IN EDINBURGH. CH. LXXXV.
few of their number to speak in their name ? The petitioners
took them at their word. They chose a body of
commission? commissioners from amongst themselves. From
ers- that moment, if the nation rallied roun'd the new
commissioners, it would have a government, and that govern-
ment would not be the King's. There were no more riots in:
Edinburgh. 1
1 Rothes, 17. Baillie, 35, 38.
325
CHAPTER LXXXVI.
THE SCOTTISH COVENANT.
To a man of practical instincts, like Traquair, the outlook in
Scotland, after the nomination of the popular commissioners,
was indeed pitiable. " I am in all things," he wrote,
Traquair's " left alone, and, God is my witness, never so per-
proposai. pi exe d what to do. Shall I give way to this people's
fury, which, without force and the strong hand, cannot be
opposed ? " It was hard for him to believe that a compromise
was no longer possible. Why, he asked Rothes, could they
not agree to accept the English Prayer Book as it stood ?
Rothes would not hear of it, and the resolution of Rothes was
the resolution of his countrymen. 1
On November 15, the petitioners returned to Edinburgh.
Their commissioners, hastily chosen, were to give way to a
NOV. 15. more permanent body, composed of six or more
?/fhe n com n n blemen, two gentlemen from each shire, one towns-
missbners. ma n from each borough, and one minister from each
presbytery. Traquair, seeing that authority was slipping out
of his hands, remonstrated warmly ; but Sir Thomas Hope, the
Presbyterian Lord Advocate, gave an opinion that the peti-
tioners were acting within their rights, and further opposition
was impossible. 2
In the persons of the commissioners, Scotland waited, not
impatiently, for an answer. If Charles could frankly abandon
the Service Book, as Elizabeth had once abandoned the mo-
nopolies, he might, perhaps, have saved some fragments of
1 Traquair to Hamilton, Oct. 19, Hard-Mukt S. P. U. 95. fiotfcr, 22
* Ibid. 23.
326 THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. CH. LXXXVI.
authority for the bishops. He could not even make up his
mind to announce his intentions plainly. On I)e-
Scotland . , . . ,,-,, ,
waits for an cember /, a proclamation issued at Linlithgow, where
the Council, in obedience to the King, was now
Dec- ? sitting, declared that, on account of the riots at
The procla- _,,.... . . . , , .
mation at Edinburgh, the answer to the supplication would be
Linlithgo*. ad to say
abhorred Popery, and would consent -to nothing which did not
tend to the advancement of the true religion as it was ' pre-
sently professed"' in Scotland. "Nothing,-" the proclamation
ended by saying, " is or was intended to be done therein against,
{ he laudable laws of this His Majesty's native kingdom." 1 ".
Scotsmen had made up their minds with almost complete
unanimity that those laudable laws had been broken. In vain
Dec. 21. Traquair begged that the King should be pro-
^doih^d 1 ' Plated. Tne deputation from the City of Edinburgh
Declinator, might wait on him at Whitehall, ' offering, him their
charter and the keys of their gates,' as a mere matter of course. 2
The commissioners would not' hear of the suggestion. 3
It must be settled once for all, whether it was in
accordance with the law of Scotland that a king could change
the forms of worship without the sanction of any legislative
assembly whatever.
At last, on December 21, a copy of the General Supplication
which had been drawn up in October, was formally handed in
Dec. ai. by the commissioners to the Privy Council, accom-
againstthe panied by a. formal demand that the case between
b '^P sre " themselves and the bishops might be judicially de-
the Council, termined, and that the bishops might in the mean-
while be removed from the Council.
Before long, Charles sent for Traquair, to hear from his
own mouth his opinion on the state of affairs in Scotland. It
1638. would have been well if he had more seriously a't-
t ende( j t o jh a t coo i an( j dispassionate adviser. The
i raquair in
jxmdon. Lord Treasurer assured him that the Scottish people
had no wish to cast off his authority, but that they would not
1 Proclamation, Dec. 7, Large Declaration, 46. 8 Rotkes, 43.
* Bill and Declinator, Dec. 21, ibid. 50.
. ::,~HARLES. JUSTIFIES H1MSELP. 327
look on idly whilst their religion was assailed..- Above all, they
were proud, of their ancient independence, and they would hot
take orders from the Archbishop of Canterbury. 1 His Majesty
must plainly understand that, if he wished the new Prayer
Book to be read in Scotland, he must support it with an army
of 40,000 men.
To withdraw the Service Book and to assert his civil autho-
rity was the substance of this advice. Charles listened, but
was not convinced. Traquair was sent back with orders to
issue a proclamation which was virtually a declaration of war. 4
That proclamation was read on February 19, in the streets of
Stirling, where the Council, after leaving Linlithgow, had been
allowed to take up its quarters, rather than in the
- Feb. 19.-
The. King's more distant Dundee. Charles truly asserted that
the Prayer he, and not the bishops, was responsible for the
issue of the Prayer Book. " As much," he said, " as
we, out of our princely care of maintenance of the true religion
already professed, and for beating down of all superstition,
having ordained a Book of Common Prayer tto be compiled for
the general use and edification of our subjects within our
ancient kingdom of Scotland, the sarrie was accordingly done,
in the performing whereof we took great care and pains so as
nothing passed, therein but what was seen and approved by us,
before the same was either divulged or printed, assuring all our
loving subjects that not only our intention is, but even the very
book will be a, ready means to maintain the true religion al-
ready professed, and beat out all superstition, of which we in
our time do not doubt but in a fair course to satisfy our good
subjects." His Royal authority, he proceeded to say, was
much impaired by the petitions and declarations which had
1 Zonca to the Doge, Jan. *$, Feb. "' ^ eb '' 3 -, Vat. Transcripts, R> O.
* -r.; 29 12, March 5'
2 "Your Lordship can best witness how unwilling I was that our
master should have directed such a proclamation ; and I had too just
grounds to foretell the danger and inconveniences which are now like to
ensue thereupon." Traquair to Hamilton, M.irch 5, Hardwirke S. P. ii.
-loi. Mr. Burton must have overlooked- this passage when he wrote that
the proclamation was '.too nearly in the .tone of the adviee which Traquair
had given.' Hilt, of Scotland, yi. 477.
328 . THE SCOTTISH COVENANT, CH. ocxxvi.
been sent to him. All who had taken part in them were liable
to ' high censure, both in their persons and their fortunes,' as
having convened themselves without his permission. He was,
however, ready to pass over their fault, provided that they
returned home at once, and abstained from all further meet-
ings. If they disobeyed, he should hold them liable to the
penalties of treason. 1
Charles could not see why, if the Prayer Book had satisfied
himself, it should not satisfy others. The objection that it
The Protes- ^ad no legal authority he treated with contemptuous
tation. disregard. All the more tenaciously did the Scottish
leaders cling to legal forms. As soon as the herald had finished
his task, Johnston stepped forward to protest against the pro-
clamation in their name. They treated it as the work of the
Council alone, and announced that from that body they would
accept no orders as long as the bishops retained their places
in it. They demanded to have recourse to their ' sacred sove-
reign, to present their grievances and in a legal way to pro-
secute the same before the ordinary competent judges, civil or
ecclesiastical.' 2
If this appeal to the law was to have any weight with Charles,
it must be supported by an appeal to the nation. Rothes, who
Rothes's h a d been placed by his energy and decision at the
circular. head of the movement, despatched a circular letter
to the gentlemen who had not hitherto supported the cause,
urging them to lose no time in giving in their adhesion. The
next step was to complete the work of organisation. The
The Tables commissioners appointed in November had been
set up. found too large a body to act as a central authority.
From time to time a select committee had been appointed to
communicate with the Council, and that committee had been
naturally selected from the different classes of which the nation
was composed. Four separate committees were now appointed ;
one formed of all noblemen who might choose to attend, the
other three of four gentlemen, four ministers, and four borough
representatives respectively. These committees might meet
1 Proclamation, Feb. 19, Large Declaration, 48.
z Protestation, Feb. 19, ibid. 50.
1638 THE TABLES. 329
either separately or as one body. Sometimes to them, and
sometimes to the larger body of the commissioners, the name
of The Tables was given, in the popular language of the day. '
These committees might form an unauthorised Government,
and the commissioners an unauthorised Parliament ; but unless
Feb: 23. more were done, they would speak in their own name
An appeal to a i one . Even Rothes's circular had been directed
the nation
necessary. on iy to the upper classes. It was necessary to touch
the multitude. The thousands to whom it was a matter of in-
difference whether the Church were ruled by bishops or by
presbyters, had been deeply wounded by the threatened inter-
ference with their worship. The plan by which their inarticulate
dissatisfaction was converted into a definite force was suggested
by Archibald Johnston.
In the days in which life and property had found no security
from the law, the nobility and gentry of Scotland had been in
Proposal to tne habit of entering into ' bands ' or obligations for
cove^a'ntof mutua ^ protection. In 1581, when the country was
'581 threatened by a confederacy of Catholic noblemen
at home, supported by a promise of assistance from Spain,
James had called on all loyal subjects to enter into such a
'band' or covenant. Those who had signed this covenant
pledged themselves to renounce the Papal doctrines, to submit
1 The question of the exact meaning of The Tables is not easy to an-
swer. Row (Hist, of the Kirk, 486) speaks of the Commissioners by this
name. Gordon, who is followed by Mr. Burton, confuses the Commis-
sioners with the Committees. The Large Declaration puts the appointment
of The Tables at this date, limiting the number of the noblemen to four.
I follow Kothes, in whose Relation the gradual development of The Tables
can be traced. The Commissioners were chosen on Nov. 15 (p. 23*. On
Nov. 16 thirteen were solicited to wait on the Council (p. 26). On the
i8th six of the gentry and some representatives of the boroughs remained
in Edinburgh (p. 32). In December six or seven noblemen met with four
out of each of the other classes to hold communication with the Council
(p. 34). On Dec. 19 we hear of only twelve performing this office (p. 38).
On Feb. 22 we are told, ' there was one Committee chosen of four barons,
four boroughs, and four ministers, to join with the noblemen,' the number
not being specified (p. 69). This seems to have been the ultimate form
taken. At one imooriant meeting on June 9 (p. 146) there were six
noblemen present.
330 THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. CH. Lxxxvi.
to the discipline of the Scottish Church, and &> 'defend the
same according to their vocation and power. ' ; Johnston and
Henderson were now entrusted with the composition of addi-
tions to this covenant appropriate to the actual circumstances,
in order that the whole might be sent round to be subscribed
by all who wished to throw in their lot with the resistance of
the upper classes. As soon as Johnston and Henderson had
.. ..-.'.) j ; completed their work it was revised by Rothes,
Feb. 27.
Loudoun, and Balmerino, and on the 2;th it was
laid before the .two or three hundred ministers who happened
to be in Edinburgh at the time. 1 ' v .
: The additions proposed consisted in the first place of a long
string of -citations of Acts of Parliament passed in the days oi
Presbyterian ascendency. To touch the heart of the
tiohs to the people, something more than this was needed. "We,"
**"'. so ran the words which were soon to be sent forth
to every cottage in the lahd, " NoWernen, Barons, Gentlemen,
Burgesses, Ministers, and Commons' undersubscribing, con-
sidering divers times before, and especially at this time, the
danger of the true reformed religion, 'of ihe King's honour, and
of the public peace of the kingdom^ by the manifold innova-
tions and evils generally contained and particularly mentioned
in our late supplications, complaints, and protestations, do
hereby profess, and before God, His angels, arid the world,
solemnly declare that with our whole hearts we agree and re-
solve all the days of our life constantly to adhere unto arid to
defend the foresaid true religion, and forbearing the practice
of all novations already introduced in the matters of the worship
of God, or approbation of the corruptions of the public govern-
ment of. the kirk or civil places and powers of kirkmen, till
they be tried and allowed in the Assemblies and in Parliaments
to labour by all means lawful to recover the purity and
liberty of the Gospel, as it was established and professed before
the foresaid novations. And because, after due examination, we
plainly perceive, and undoubtedly believe, that the innovations
and evils contained in our supplications, complaints, and pro
*.!., ..>.. . - i-J-* .,. i. '---, - .- - ''-'
1 Rothes, 69.
i38' ^^ APPEAL TO- HEAVEN, v 331
testatiohs, have no warrant in the Word of God, are contrary
to the articles of the foresaid confessions, to the intention and
meaning of the blessed reformers of religion; in this land, to the
above-written Acts ;of Parliament, and do. -sensibly tend to the
re-establishing of the Popish religion and .tyranny, and to the
Subversion and ruin of the true reformed religion and of our
liberties, laws, and estates; we also declare that the foresaid
confessions are to be interpreted and ought to be understood
of the foresaid novations and evils, no less than if every one of
them had been expressed in; the foresaid confessions, and that
we are obliged to detest and abhor them amongst other par-,
ticular heads of papistry abjured therein'; and therefore from
the knowledge and conscience of our duty to God, to our King
and country, without any worldly respect ior inducement, so far
as human infirmity will suffer, wishing a further measure of the
grace of God for this effect, we promise and swear, by the great
name of the Lord 'oar God, to continue in the profession
and obedience of -the foresaid religion, that we shall defend
the same and resist all these contrary errors and corruptions,
according to our vocation, and to the uttermost of .that power
that God hath put in our hands all the days of our life ; and
in like manner with the same heart, we declare before God
and men that we' have no intention nor desire to attempt any-
thing that may turn to the dishonour of God, or to the diminu-
tion of the King's greatness and authority; but, on the contrary,
we promise and swear that we shall, to the uttermost of our
power with our means and lives, stand to the defence of out
dread Sovereign, the King's Majesty, his person and authority,
in the defence of the foresaid true religion, liberties, and laws
of the kingdom, as also to : the mutual defence and assistance,:
every one of us of another in the same cause of maintaining
the true religion and his Majesty's authority, with our best
counsel, our bodies, means, and whole power, against all sorts
of persons whatsoever ; so that whatsoever shall be done to the
least of us for that cause shall be taken as done to us all in
general and to every one- of us in particular ; ;and-that we shall
neither directly nor indirectly suffer ourselves to be divided or
withdrawn by whatsoever suggestion, combination, allurement,
332 THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. CH. LXXXVI.
or terror from this blessed and loyal conjunction, nor shall cast
in any let or impediment that may stay or hinder any such re-
solution, as by common consent be found to conduce for so
good ends ; but, on the contrary, shall by all lawful means
labour to further and promote the same, and if any such dan-
gerous and divisive motion be made to us by word or writ, we
and every one of us shall either suppress it, or if need be shall
incontinent make the same known, that it may be timeously
obviated ; neither do we fear the foul aspersions of rebellion,
combination, or what else our adversaries from their craft
and malice would put upon us, seeing what we do is so well
warranted and ariseth from an unfeigned desire to maintain
the true worship of God, the majesty of our King, and the
peace of the kingdom for the common happiness of ourselves
and our posterity ; and because we cannot look for a blessing
from God upon our proceedings, except with our profession
and subscription we join such a life and conversation as be-
seemeth Christians who have renewed their covenant with God
we therefore faithfully promise for ourselves, our followers, and
all others under us, both in public, in our particular families
and personal carriage, to endeavour to keep ourselves within
the bounds of Christian liberty, and to be good examples to
others of all godliness, soberness, and righteousness, and of
every duty we owe to God and man ; and that this our union
and conjunction may be observed without violation, we call the
living God, the searcher of our hearts, to witness, who knoweth
this to be our sincere desire and unfeigned resolution, as we
shall answer to Jesus Christ in the great day and under the
pain of God's everlasting wrath, and of infamy and of loss of all
honour and respect in this world ; most humbly beseeching
the Lord to strengthen us by His Holy Spirit for this end, and
to bless our desires and proceedings with a happy success, that
religion and righteousness may flourish in the land, to the
glory of God, the honour of our King, and peace and comfort
of us all." 1
The Covenant thus worded was cheerfully accepted by the
1 Large Declaration, 57*
1638 THE COVENANT SIGNED. 333
ministers to whom it was proposed. 1 On the 28th it was carried
to the Grey Friars' Church, to which all the gentle-
TheCove- ' .
nant signed men present m Edinburgh had been summoned.
biUi/andf Henderson and another minister named Dickson,
who was even more enthusiastic than himself, were
prepared to give satisfaction to all who expressed doubt Few
came forward to criticise, and those few were easily persuaded.
At four o'clock in the grey winter evening, the noblemen, the
Earl of Sutherland leading the way, began to sign. Then came
the gentlemen, one after the other, till nearly eight.
b>- the The next day the ministers were called on to testify
clergy ; {heir approval, and nearly three hundred signatures
were obtained before night. The commissioners of the boroughs
signed at the same time. 2
On the third day the people of Edinburgh were called on
to attest their devotion to the cause which was represented by
the Covenant. Tradition long loved to tell how the
and by the honoured parchment, carried back to the Grey Friars,
was laid out on a tombstone in the churchyard,
whilst weeping multitudes pressed round in numbers too great
to be contained in any building. There are moments when
the stern Scottish nature breaks out into an enthusiasm . less
passionate, but more enduring, than the frenzy of a Southern
race. As each man and woman stepped forward in turn, with
the right hand raised to heaven before the pen was grasped,
everyone there present knew that there would be no flinching
amongst that band of brothers till their religion was safe from
intrusive violence. 3
Modern narrators may well turn their attention to the
picturesqueness of the scene, to the dark rocks of the Castle
crag over against the churchyard, and to the earnest faces
around. The men of the seventeenth century had no thought
to spare for the earth beneath or for the sky above. What they
1 Kothes, 71. * Ibid. 79.
J The general signature is not described in contemporary accounts.
The 28th and 1st were too fully occupied, and I have therefore assigned it
to the 2nd, though there is no direct evidence about the date.
3,14 THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. CH. LX*XVI.
saw was their country's faith trodden under foot, what they felt
was the joy of those who had been long led astray, and had now
.returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls;
No one in Scotland had so much reason as Traquair to
regret the King's ill-advised persistency. " Many things have
Feb 28 been complained on," he wrote on the first day of
fraquair's signature ; "but the Service Book, which they con-
ceive by this proclamation, and the King's taking the
same upon himself, to be in effect of new ratified, is that which
troubles than most ; and truly, in my judgment, it shall be as
easy to establish the Missal in this kingdom as the Service
Book, as it is conceived. The not urging the present practice
thereof does no way satisfy them, because they conceive that
what is done in the delaying thereof is but only to prepare
things the better for the urging of the same at a more con-
venient time ; and, believe me, as yet I see not a probability
of power within this kingdom to force them ; and whoever has
informed the King's Majesty otherwise, either of the Book
itself or of the disposition of the subjects to obey his Majesty's
commandments, it is high time every man be put to make
good his own part." *
Such views were not confined to Traquair. Spottiswoode,
March i. speaking on behalf of the bishops, avowed to the
Council that peace was hopeless unless the Service
Book were openly withdrawn. The Council itself
and b? the' was ^ ^ same opinion, and they despatched one of
goijqcii. .( their number to the King to implore him to listen to
the grievances of his subjects, and to suspend all those orders
which* had given rise to the late disturbances. 2
It is hardly likely that even .the promptest acceptance of
this advice would now have appeased the Scottish nation. The
An Assembly Covenant had appealed to Assembly and Parliament
*ltit P S lla as the legal basis of the national religion, and no mere
manded, withdrawal of the obnoxious orders would any longer
suffice. An .Assembly and Parliament must meet to pronounce
flibse orders to have been utterly and scandalously illegal.
1 Traquair, to, Hamilton, Feb. 28^ Hard-wicke S. P. ii. 99.
Extracts from the Register of the Privy Council, Baiilie, i. 458.
1638 TME-.^L'AM-JE: THROWN ON LAUD. 335
/;. Even 1 the lesser' demand, of the Council met with- appa-
rently, insuperable resistance in Charles's mind. He knew
well that it was not the fortune of Scotland only
reluctance which was/ involved in his decision. Englishmen
way> about him, he believed, in all probability with truth,
were already in correspondence with the Northern malcontents,
and were hoping that the example which had been set at Edin-
burgh might one day be followed in London. His Scottish
servants were not lacking in sympathy with, their countrymen/
March n ^ ne P r exarn pte was made. Archie Armstrong,-
Arctic Arm- the King's-fool, railed at Laud in his .cups as a monk,
felted from a rogue, and. a traitor.. Laud was unwise enough to
complain to the King. The unlucky jester was called
before the Council, sentenced to have his coat pulled OVer.his
March I7 . ears, to be discharged from the King's servipe, and
Archie to be sent before the Star Chamber for further punish-
excused a
flogging. ment. The Star ; .Chamber would probably .have
ordered him to be soundly, flogged, but Laud at last inter-
fered, and. Archie escaped the lash. '
Others besides Archie bore ill-will to Laud as the adviser
of the King's refusal to content the Scots. The English
Privy Councillors protested that they were not re-
cminciiiors sponsib.le for conduct on which their advice : had
bian^e on not beefi asked. Charles was only annoyed at their
evident belief that he-had been acting under Laud's
dictation. In an angry voice, he assured the Council that he
had never taken -the advice of any Englishman in the affairs of
Scotland. 2 .; :;
... It needs no proof to show that Charles's policy of pro-
crastination, was indeed his own. Week 'after week
The King s .
procrastina- pa'ssed away, with no resolution taken. The Cove^
nanters were not so remiss. By the end of April
\rellnigh the whole of Scotland had rallied to their cause. In
1 Council Register, March II, 17. Garrard to Wentworth, March 20,
Straffcrd Letters, iu 152. RitsHworth, ii. 47.
Zonca's despatches, ^g.^' 3 , Ven. TraMrcn\M, R. O.
336 THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. CH. LXXXVI.
every town, in every village, in every secluded nook, the most
April. influential landowners, the most eloquent preachers
of the'cove- werc reac ty to P our tne ^ r arguments into willing ears,
nant. M o doubt, as in every such movement, much is to
be laid to the account of the excellence of the organisation
provided by its leaders. Much of the reasoning used would
hardly bear the test of a critical examination. Charles's
Service Book certainly did not deserve all the hard things that '
were said of it. None the less was the resistance of Scotland
the result of a determination to be true to the motto of the
Scottish Thistle. Scotland has never at any time distinguished
itself as the originator of new ideas in religion or government ;
but it has ever shown itself to be possessed of the most indis-
pensable quality of a hardy and vigorous people, the deter mi na-
The Scottish ti n to be itself, and not what external force might
resistance, choose to make it. The Scottish nation had done
well to pay a heavy price in the thirteenth century for its politi-
cal independence. It did well in the seventeenth century to
pay a heavy price for its ecclesiastical independence. For the
sake of that, it renounced the wide sympathies of the cultured
intellect, and hardened its heart like a flint against all forms of
spiritual religion which did not accord with the fixed dogmatic
teaching which it had borrowed from Geneva. Calvinism had
but scant regard for the liberty of the individual conscience.
Its preachers felt themselves called upon to set forth the un-
alterable law, and the law which they preached came back to
them in the voice of their congregations. In the many there
was no sense of any restriction placed by the system upon
themselves. To the few it became an insupportable tyranny a
tyranny which would be more than ordinarily felt in the hours of
danger through which the nation was then passing. To reject the
Treatment of Covenant was not merely to differ in belief from the
refund to multitude ; it was to be a traitor to the country, to
"" be ready to help on the foreign invasion which would
soon be gathering in the South. Those who still held out were
met with dark looks and threatening gestures. " The greate;
that the number of subscribents grew," we hear from one who
remembered that lime well, " the more imperious they were in
1638 SUBSCRIPTIONS ENFORCED. * 337
exacting subscriptions from others who refused to subscribe,
so that by degrees they proceeded to contumelies and re-
proaches, and some were threatened and beaten who durst
refuse, especially in the greatest cities as likewise in other
smaller towns namely, at Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Glasgow,
Lanark, and many other places. Gentlemen and noblemen
carried copies of it about in portmantles and pockets, requiring
subscription thereunto, and using their utmost endeavours
with their friends in private for to subscribe. It was subscribed
publicly in churches, ministers exhorting their people there-
unto. It was also subscribed and sworn privately. All had
power to take the oath, and were licensed and welcome to come
in, and any that pleased had power and licence for to carry the
Covenant about with him, and give the oath to such as were
willing to subscribe and swear. And such was the zeal of
many subscribents that, for a while, many subscribed with tears
on their cheeks, and it is constantly reported that some did draw
their own blood, and used it in place of ink to underscribe their
names. Such ministers as spoke most for it were heard so
passionately and with such frequency, that churches would not
contain their hearers in cities. . . . Nor were they scrupulous
to give the Covenant to such as startled, at any point thereof,
with such protestations as in some measure were destructive to
the sense thereof ; so that they got subscriptions enough there-
unto ; and it came to that height in the end, that such as
refused to subscribe were accounted by the rest who sub-
scribed no better than Papists." '
If honour be due to the nation which refused to shift its
religion at the word of command, honour is also due to those
Case of who, from whatever conscientious motive, refused to
David sign their names to a lie for the sake of peace. Such
men went about the streets of Edinburgh in fear of
their lives. David Michell, one of the recusant ministers, was
dogged by gentlemen with drawn swords. The cry of " If we
had the Popish villain ! " was thrown at him as he passed. 2 Yet
it is worthy of notice that these threats led to nothing worse.
1 Gordon, 45.
2 Michell to the Bishop of Raphoe, March 19, Sail/if, i. 263.
VOL. VIII. Z
-.338 -'THE SCOTTISH COVENANT CH.
. No bloodshed, except in avowed war, stained the cause of the
Covenant
Practically the nation was united. A few great landowners
stood aloof from the movement A few amongst the clergy
took alarm. Scholars like Drummond of Hawthorn -
umty of the den dreaded the rising flood of popular passion
which threatened to overwhelm their quiet studies.
Some there were who signed in defiance of their conviction,
and many more who signed in ignorance of the meaning cf
their promises. But on the whole the nation swayed .forward
under the influence of strong excitement, as the cornfield
sways under the breeze.
To the King the Scottish Covenant was much more than an
assertion of Puritanism. By its appeal from himself to Parlia-
ment and Assembly, it was in his eyes something
Charles very like a declaration of republicanism. Yet, re-
thought of , , , , . ....
the Cove- solved as he was to resist such pretensions to the
utmost, he knew not where to turn for the force
which he needed. Though he had little idea how deep the
dissatisfaction in England was, he knew enough to be aware
that there were many of his subjects who would not fight very
enthusiastically in this cause. Army he had none, in the sense
of a disciplined body of men, ready to act independently
of the state of popular opinion, and his fleet would not be of
much avail unless it could be used in support of an army.
It was at least possible to do something to improve the
organisation of the navy. The Navy Commission which had
April 13. been appointed on Buckingham's death was still in
Northum-; office, and Charles had perhaps intended that -it
} erland Lord * r
Admiral. .. should remain in office till his second son, James,
whom -he had created Duke of York, and who was not yet five
years old, should become capable of performing the duties of
a Lord Admiral. In view of the approaching conflict, it was
necessary that some other arrangement should be made.
Northumberland, who had commanded the fleet on its last
year's cruise, was therefore created Lord Admiral during the
King's pleasure. At the same time an instrument conveying
the office to the young prince was executed, and consigned to
1638 A DIFFICULT POSITION. 339
the safe recesses of the Council chest, to be drawn forth when-
ever the King wished it to be put in force. 1
Northumberland fell ill shortly after his appointment, and
was therefore unable to command the fleet in person. Even if
May. it had been otherwise, no scheme of warlike pre-
Sfve^tV 6 " paration had been framed in which the fleet could
negotiate, possibly have taken part. Charles fell back on diplo-
macy. It was necessary for him ' to gain time ' till he might
be able to intervene with effect. Yet it would be to misunder-
stand his character and position, to suppose, as has been so
often supposed, that he had made up his mind to deceive the
Scots by offering concessions which he never intended to
make. He knew that he must abandon the position which he
had taken up in the previous summer ; but he now fancied that
it would be enough if he offered to modify the Court of High
Commission, and to give assurance not to press the Canons
and the Service Book, except in ' such a fair and legal way as '
should satisfy his subjects that he intended no ' innovation in
religion or laws.' So far he was prepared to go. He was,
however, strongly of opinion that the Scots would not be content
with this, and he believed that their leaders at least were bent
upon throwing off his lawful authority. The Covenant must
therefore be surrendered as a standard of rebellion. 2 Spottis-
woode sensibly told him that this demand would make all nego-
tiation impossible. He answered curtly, that till the Covenant
were abandoned he had no more power than a Doge of Venice. 3
The request he plainly believed to be a righteous one. It was
the fault of the Scots if they did not see it in the same light
The mere demand would give him time to push on his prepara-
tions. If that were to his advantage, the blame would lie with
those who rejected such reasonable terms.
As the bearer of this overture, Charles selected the Marquis
of Hamilton, whom he had for many years consulted on every
subject relating to Scotland. Of all men living Hamilton had
the greatest share of the King's confidence, and was probably
1 Northumberland's appointment, April 13, Patent Rolls, 13 Charles I.
Part 38, Council Register, April 18.
8 Burnet, Lives of the Hamilton*, 43. ' Ibid. 46.
z2
340 THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. CH. LXXXVI.
the most unfit to be trusted with the difficult task now assigned
to him. The charge which was often brought against
^ a Com. to him by contemporaries of wishing to seat himself
nassioner. U p On his master's Scottish throne, as the next heir
Hischarac- after the Stuart line, is doubtless without foundation. 1
Everything that we know of him lends itself to the
supposition that he felt a warm personal affection for Charles.
But even a warm personal affection may easily be clouded
over by other passions. When the chivalrous Lovelace as-
sured the lady of his heart that he could not love her so much
unless he loved honour more, he laid down a principle which
holds good in other relations of life than those which exist
between man and woman. Attachment arising out of personal
admiration, or out of the amenities of personal intercourse,
is liable to interruption or decay. Attachment arising out
of community of sentiment and community of sacrifice for a
common object is subject to no such danger. The enduring
loyalty of Wentworth saw in Charles not merely a gracious
sovereign, but the symbol of a great political principle. The
loyalty of Hamilton saw in Charles a blindly devoted master,
who had been the founder of a great part of his personal for-
tune. He wished to support and maintain the King's authority,
but he wished still more to foster his own wealth and state
under the shadow of that authority. He would serve the King,
but he could not serve him with a perfect heart. To the King
he owed the high position which set him apart from other
Scottish subjects, and which exposed him to the jealousy of
his brother nobles ; but the permanent supports of his family,
the broad estates, the attached hearts of followers and de-
pendents, were to be found in the rich valley through which
the Clyde poured its stream, under skies as yet undimmed by
the smoke of a mighty industry. While every feeling of his
heart, every demand of his interest, urged him to be the paci-
ficator of the strife, he might easily be led to seek the ac-
complishment of his object by means which might possibly
do credit to his impartiality, but which were by no means
" ace Vol. VII. p. 182.
1638 A DESPAIRING DIPLOMATIST 341
befitting an ambassador trusted by one of the parties in the
quarrel.
To the religious aspect of the strife Hamilton was pro-
foundly indifferent. If only the Scots would keep quiet, it
Hisindiffer- mattere d nothing to him whether they read their
ence to the prayers out of the new book or not. It was the
religious
side of the indifference of contempt, not the indifference of
wisdom. He was just the man to advocate a com-
promise, just the man too not to see on what terms a com-
promise was possible. He would shift his ground from day to
day because, if he did not take his stand on the principles of
either of the contending parties, he had no principles of his own
to secure him against the attraction or repulsion of every
accident that occurred.
It is not unlikely that this want of settled principle ex-
pressed itself, unconsciously to himself, in that gloomy de-
His despon- spondency for which he was notorious. He never
dent temper. un( Jertook any work without rapidly coming to the
conclusion that success was only attainable by an entire change
of plan. He was frequently engaged in war and in diplomacy.
Whenever he was engaged in war he became absolutely certain
that negotiation would give him everything that he wanted.
Whenever he was engaged in diplomacy he was sure that war,
and war only, would accomplish the ends which he had been
sent to obtain by negotiation.
Already, before he could set out from England, he felt the
difficulties of his task. " I have no hope in the world of doing
good," he said to Con, " without coming to blows.
Hamilton -. _ . .
despairs of Our countrymen are possessed by the devil. The
judgment of God is to be seen in the business ; for
though the King is ready to pardon them, and to do all that
they want, they continue to make new demands, and have now
published orders that none of the Covenanters shall meet the
King's Commissioners." l
It was too true, Hamilton was made to understand that
he was to treat with the Covenanting leaders, and must not pass
1 Con to Barberini, June ~, Add. MSS. 15,391, fol. 164.
34* ' THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. CH. Lxxxvr.
them over to address their followers. Dalkeith was appointed
as the place of meeting. Before he reached it, an
His arrival affair occurred which inflicted on him a fresh indig-
m Scotland. ^ vessel arrived at Leith laden with warlike
stores for the garrison in the Castle of Edinburgh, which was
commanded by the Earl of Mar, but which Hamilton
shipa w r hoped to secure for the King. The Covenanters
would not allow it to land its cargo. At last Traquair
carried off the gunpowder on board and stowed it away in
Dalkeith House. The Covenanting leaders at once refused to
go near so dangerous a spot, and set guards round the Castle
to hinder the introduction of the powder. 1
On June 7 Hamilton was able to give an account of the
state of affairs. He had an interview with Rothes, and had
Junes. tld him that if the terms which he brought were
^Jn-llrw 1 ' 8 re J ecte d> the King would come in person to Scotland
with kothe*. w ith 40,000 men at his back. Rothes did not appear
to be terrified. All that Scotland wanted, he said, was that
their religion might be so securely established that no man
might alter it hereafter at his pleasure. 9
Before leaving England, Hamilton had received from
Charles two alternative forms of a declaration which he was
expected to publish. In the one the demand for the
June 7.
Hamilton's surrender of the Covenant was plainly worded. In
thfsitua" the other it was shrouded in vague exhortations to
obedience. Hamilton now assured the King that it
was only in the latter form that it would be possible to read
the declaration at all. 3 The Covenanters would be content
with nothing short of an abolition of the obnoxious forms,
including the Articles of Perth, by an Assembly and Parliament,
together with a limitation placed upon the authority of the
bishops. The King must therefore be prepared to invade
Scotland with a royal army. He was certain to gain a victory,
but he must remember that it would be gained over his ' own
poor people,' and he might perhaps prefer 'to wink at their
1 Rothes, 112, 129. * 'Ibid. 135.
* I suppose this is what he means by dividing the Declaration. At all
events, this is what he resolved on two days later.
1638 HAMILTON IN SCOTLAND. 343
madness.' As long as that madness lasted, they would ' sooner
lose their lives than leave the Covenant, or part from their
demands impertinent and damnable as they were.' If the
Covenanters could not force him to give way, they would call
a Parliament themselves. " Be confident," he added, " they,
by God's grace, shall neither be able to do the one nor the
other in haste, for what I cannot do by strength I do by
cunning." 1
Hamilton was, perhaps, using his cunning to frighten
Charles into those further concessions which now appeared to
him to offer the only chance of peace. Charles,
The King's however, did not take the hint. He replied that he
ons ' was hastening his preparations. " In the meantime,"
he continued, " your care must be how to dissolve the multi-
tude, and if it be possible to possess yourselves of my castles
of Edinburgh and Stirling, which I do not expect. And to
this end I give you leave to flatter them with what hopes you
please, so you engage not me against my grounds and in
particular that you consent neither to the calling of Parliament
nor General Assembly, until the Covenant be disavowed and
given up ; your chief end being now to win time that they may
not commit public follies until I be ready to suppress them." 2
In the main point, in short, there was to be no concession, but
on matters of lesser importance Hamilton was to spin out the
negotiation as long as he could.
'. - Before this letter was written, Hamilton had entered Edin-
burgh. The whole population of the town, swollen by numbers
j un e g. wno na d flocked in from the country, appeared to
Hamilton receive him. He reported that at least sixty thousand
enters Edm- " J
burgh. lined the roads. Five hundred ministers in their
black gowns were there. Eluding their purpose of greeting
him with a public speech, he made his way to Holyropd to
hear what they had to say in private. So pleased was he with
his reception, that he requested the King to put off any warlike
1 Hamilton to the King, June 7, Hamilton Papers, 3.
' l The King to Hamilton, June n, Buntet, 55; The letter is a reply
to the one of the 7th, not to the one of the 4th mentioned in the beginning
of it.
344 THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. CH. LXXXVI.
effort till he had seen what he was able to accomplish in Edin
burgh. The Covenanters, it was true, were not to be induced
to surrender the Covenant at once, but it would be possible to
obtain other concessions which fell short of that. 1
In less than a week Hamilton discovered that even these
modified hopes had been far too sanguine. On the i5th he
wrote that even the Councillors of State declared the
HUdisap- Covenant to be justified bylaw, ' which,' he added,
' is a tenet so dangerous to monarchy, as I cannot
yet see how they will stand together.' All that was to be done
was to stave off the inevitable rebellion till the King was ready
to crush it. He had not dared to publish the Declaration even
in its curtailed form. Nothing short of the immediate meeting
of an Assembly and Parliament would satisfy the Covenanters.
On any terms short of this it was useless to continue the
negotiation. Of the chance of a successful resistance he was
equally hopeless. He had sent Huntly and a few other loyal
noblemen to their homes to form the nucleus of opposition.
Lord Antrim, who as a MacDonell had claims to lands in the
Western Highlands, might bring an Irish force to the King's
aid. But the immediate prospect was most gloomy. It was
useless to expect to gain possession of Edinburgh Castle. There
was not much comfort to be given. " When your power comes,"
wrote Hamilton, " I hope in God, He will give you victory ;
but, believe me, it will be a difficult work and bloody." 2
The next day Hamilton suggested a fresh way out of the
difficulty. Might not the Covenanters add an ex-
June 16. 3
Hamilton planation to the Covenant, declaring that they had
theffole- at no wish to infringe on the authority of the King ? 3
expfai" th" Charles, however, shrank from acknowledging a de-
Covenant. f eat so plainly. No explanation would conceal the
fact that he had given way because he could not cope with the
June ao. forces arrayed against him. He therefore replied
prepares for 4 ^ at h e was ma k m g ready for war. In six weeks
war - he should have a train of artillery consisting of forty
pieces of ordnance. Berwick and Carlisle would soon be se-
1 Hamilton to the King, June 9, Hamilton Papers, 7.
* Idem, June 15, ibid. 9. Burnet, 58.
1638 HAMILTON^ MEDIATION. 345
cured against attack. He had sent to Holland for arms to equip
14,000 foot, and 2,000 horse. The Lord Treasurer had
assured him that he would have no difficulty in providing
2oo,ooo/. He was about to despatch the fleet to the Firth of
Forth, and 6,000 soldiers should be sent with it, if Hamilton
could make sure that they would be able to land at Leith. 1
A few days later Charles was still resolute. " I will only say,"
he wrote, " that so long as this Covenant is in force whether it
be with or without explanation I have no more power
in Scotland than as a Duke of Venice, which I will
father die than suffer ; yet I commend the giving ear to the
explanation, or anything else to win time, which now I see is
one of your chiefest cares." He added that he should not be
sorry if the Covenanters even proceeded to call a Parliament
and Assembly without authority from him. By so doing they
would only put themselves more completely in the wrong. 2
Hamilton had already discovered that it was not so easy to
win time as Charles imagined. He threatened to break off the
negotiation, to return to England, and to advise the
Hamilton* King to take another course. At last he obtained
turning to" an engagement from the Covenanters that they would
England. disperse to their homes, and would take no forward
step for three weeks, during his absence, on the understanding
that he would do his best to induce the King to summon an
Assembly and a Parliament
In announcing this arrangement to Charles, Hamilton made
the most of the delay that he had gained. It was possible, he
said, that, having once dispersed, the Covenanters would return
in a better frame of mind. They would certainly not surrender
the Covenant, but they would perhaps ' not so adhere to it ' as
now they did. He had also something to say about the im-
pending war. He could not secure the landing of the pro-
posed force of 6,000 men, but a lesser number might be brought
in the fleet to make incursions in Fife and the Lothians.
Dumbarton was already in safe hands, and he was in treaty
with the Earl of Mar for the surrender of Edinburgh Castle
1 The King to Hamilton, June 20, Burnet, 59.
* Idem, June 25, ibid. 60.
$0 THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. CH. LXXXVi.
to himself. Yet he could- not deny that the Covenanters
were also active, and were importing arms freely from the
Continent. 1
In reply, Charles gave the required permission to return.
The Commissioner was to promise nothing which would after-
June 29. wards have to be refused. He might, however, recall-
Hamilton the law courts to Edinburgh, and give some vague
return. hopes of a future Assembly and Parliament. On the
Other hand, the Declaration in its amended form must be
published before he left Edinburgh. 2
Hamilton had already set out for England when this letter
reached him. He at once turned back, and on July 4 the
- ' f King's Declaration was read at the Market Cross at
TheDecia- Edinburgh. Covenanting Scotland was informed
ration read. tha(; the Q^^ an d Service Book would only be
pressed in a fair and legal way.
Once more, as soon as the herald had fulfilled his task, a
protestation was read in reply. . The Covenanters again ap-
Another pro- pealed to Assembly and Parliament as the only lawful
testation. judges of their cause. Nor did they fail to make it
known that the Assembly which they contemplated was a very
different one from those gatherings which had ratified the will
of James with enforced subserviency. Bishops were to have
no place there excepting as culprits to give an account of their
misdeeds. Of this Assembly they began to speak in terms to
which a servant of King Charles could hardly dare
The Divine . . T i . i <
right of as- to listen. It was openly said that the right to hold
sembUes. assemblies came direct from God, and that no earthly
prince might venture to interrupt them. 3
The long controversy was slowly disentangling itself. The
claim of Charles to cast the religion of his subjects.in the mould
which seemed fairest in his eyes was met by the stern denial of
his right to meddle with religion at all
This outburst of Scottish feeling penetrated to the Council
chamber itself. Before nightfall many of the Privy Councillors,
1 Hamilton to the King, June 24, Hamilton Papers, 14.
* The King to Hamilton, June 29, Burnet, 6l.
1 Protestation, Large Declaration, 98.
1638 RESISTANCE IN SCOTLAND. ?47
who in the morning had given an official approval to the
The Council Declaration, signified their determination to with-
a^ahL P t a the draw their signatures. Unless this were permitted,
ifeciaration. tney wou id s jg n t h e Covenant at once. To save
Julys- himself from this indignity, Hamilton tore up, in
their presence, the paper on which their approval had been
recorded. l
Whilst the Lord Commissioner was still arguing with the
Council, a deputation from the Covenanters arrived to remon-
strate against the language of the Declaration. Hamil-
from U the n ton replied with firmness. The Council, he said,
Covenanters. c knew ^^ ^ ^^ &nswer jt , 2 When
the members of the deputation took leave, he followed them
They are out of the room. "I spoke to you," he is reported
by C Hamii- d to nave sa ^ ^ soon ^ ^ e was m P r i yate with them,
ton. "before those Lords of the Council as the King's
commissioner ; now, there being none present but yourselves,
I speak to you as a kindly Scotsman. If you go on with
courage and resolution, you will carry what you please ; but if
you faint and give ground in the least, you are undone. A
word is enough to wise men." 3
" What I cannot do by strength,'' he had explained to
Charles, " I do by cunning." Hamilton's cunning was as in-
effectual as his strength. It is not necessary to suppose that
he wished to ruin his master. He probably wanted simply
to be on good terms with all parties, and thought, as was un-
1 Hamilton to the King, July 4, Hamilton Papers^ 21. Burnet, 64.
2 Rothes, 175.
* These words are given by Guthry (Memoirs, 40). He says that he
heard the story on the same day from a person who had been told it by
Cant, who was himself one of the deputation, and heard it again, ' in the
very same terms,' that evening from Montrose, who was another of the
deputation. It does not follow that the very words are accurately set
down by Guhry when he came to write his Memoirs. The belief that he
was playing a double game was too common in Scotland not to have had
some foundation. The English author of the curious narrative printed in
the Appendix to the Hamilton Papers (263), says that ' he gave them
advice as his countrymen to keep to their own principles, lest the English
nation .... should encroach upon them.'
348 THE SCOTTISH COVENANT. CH. LXXXVI.
doubtedly the case, that it would be better for Charles, as well
as for Scotland, that he should accept the terms which appeared
to be inevitable. With this object in view, it was to him a
matter of indifference whether Charles frightened the Scots into
surrender, or the Scots frightened Charles into concessions. As
the first alternative appeared to be more than ever improbable,
he now took his journey southward, with the hope that Charles
would give way more readily than his subjects. He
Hamilton's , . . ... ,
return to was prepared to urge him to give his consent to the
ng an ' meeting of Assembly and Parliament, to allow them
to give a legal condemnation to the recent ecclesiastical inno-
vations, and even to place the bishops for the future under the
control of the General Assembly. It might well be doubted
whether Charles would be prepared to yield so much. There
could be no doubt whatever that the Scots would not be content
with less.
349
CHAPTER LXXXVII.
THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW.
ON July i, a few days before Hamilton set out for England,
Charles for the first time broached the subject of the Scottish
troubles in the English Privy Council. The necessity
July i. of placing Berwick and Carlisle in a state of defence,
counci"?n- sh made it impossible to treat the matter any longer
statTof fthe as one m w hich England was wholly unconcerned.
affairs. The King spoke of his wish to have brought about a
religious uniformity between the two kingdoms. He explained
that he had now found it necessary to entrust Arundel with the
work of strengthening the border fortresses, but that he had no
intention of dealing hardly with the wild heads in Scotland, if
they went no farther than they had gone as yet Beyond this
vague statement he did not commit himself. No opinion was
asked from the Privy Councillors, and none was given. Charles
was doubtless not unconscious of the difficulty of gathering an
adequate military force. That weary look, which, transferred
to the canvas of Vandyke, gained for Charles so many
The King's , . .. ,.
despond- passionate admirers, was now stealing over his coun-
"" cy tenance. For the first time in his life he left the
tennis-court unvisited, and, except on rare occasions, he avoided
the excitement of the chase. He announced that, this year, his
progress would be but a short one, and that he would return to
Oatlands before the middle of August at the latest. 1 It is not
improbable that Charles really fancied it to be possible to
subdue Scotland without invading it, and without summoning
1 Gartard to Wentworth, July 3, Slrafford Letters, ii. 179. Zonca's
despatch, July ^, Ven. Transcripts^ R. 0.
350 THE ASSEMBLY QF GLASGOW. CH LXXXVII.
an English Parliament. On the very day on which he made
his communication to the Council, a legal opinion was placed
in his hands by Bankes, in which the Attorney- General treated
the greatest political question of the day from the point of view
of a mere lawyer. In this paper the King was informed that
he was entitled by law to send all persons who held lands or
offices from him in the North of England, to repair thither and
to be armed at the expense of their own counties for the defence
of the realm. He might also command the towns in the North
to erect fortifications at their own charges. When an invasion
had thus been rendered impossible, the English navy might be
ordered to blockade the coast of Scotland. In this way the
Scots would be obliged to submit without the intervention of
an English army. 1
Even Charles could not long continue to believe that the
North would really be secured by the means which appeared
to Bankes to be sufficient Before long, though he
The Com- still hesitated to consult the Privy Council as a whole
Scotch 00 on the subject, he directed the formation of a com-
mittee from amongst its members in order that it
might advise him on the practicability of an armed interference
in Scotland. The committee was soon hopelessly divided in
opinion. The Catholics and semi-Catholics Arundel, Cotting-
ton, and Windebank were for instant war. Vane, Coke, and
Northumberland hesitated in the face of its enormous dif-
ficulties. With all the financial improvement of recent years,
Charles's income was insufficient to bear an extraordinary strain.
The promise of 2oo,ooo/ made by Juxon a few weeks before
had not been realised. Only 2oo/. were at the moment in the
exchequer. The utmost that could be raised by borrowing
was no,ooo/., a sum which would go but a little way towards
the maintenance of an army. What was of more consequence
was, that the recent decision in the ship-money case had re-
vealed the discontent of the English people, and it was freely
acknowledged that they were more likely to support the Scots
than to draw their swords for the King. 2
1 The Attorney-General to the King, July I, Melbourne MSS.
Northumberland to Wentworth, July 23, Stra/ord Letters, ii. 185.
*
1638 ..3 WENTWORTH IN IRELAND. 331
In these desperate circumstances, it was natural that the
thoughts of those who cared for the 'maintenance of the King's
authority should cross St. George's Channel There
dratVto' at least was a man who had shown that it was possible
to educe order out of chaos. Might not the force
which had curbed Ireland be employed to restore discipline in
Scotland?
Never had Wentworth been so hopeful of the success of his
great experiment as in the summer of 1637. In August, just
1637. as the Scottish resistance was growing serious, he set
wtn^orth-s out fo r the west. In a letter to Conway he described,
progress in w j t h much amusement, the triumphal arches erected
the west of
Ireland. in his honour, and the long speeches of welcome
inflicted on him by the magistrates of the towns through which
he passed. He was-well satisfied with the more serious business
of his journey. " Hither are we come," he wrote from Limerick,
" through a country, upon my faith, if as well husbanded, built,
and peopled as are you in England, would show itself not
much inferior to the very best you have there. The business
we came about is most happily effected, and His Majesty now
entitled to the two goodly counties of Ormond and Clare, and
which beauties and seasons the work exceedingly with all
possible contentment and satisfaction of the people. In all
my whole life- did I never see, or could possibly have believed
to have found men with so much alacrity divesting .themselves
of all property in their estates, and, with great quietness and
singleness of mind, waiting what His Majesty may in his
gracious good pleasure and time determine and measure out
for them. I protest I that am, to my truth, of a gentle hearty
find myself extremely taken with the manner of their proceeding.
They have all along, to the uttermost of their skill and breeding,
given me very great expressions of their esteem and affection,
so as I begin almost to be persuaded that they here could be
content to have me the minister of His Majesty's favour towards
them as soon as any other." 1
Such a letter shows Wentworth at his best. It is probable
1 Wentworth t.o Conway, Aug. 21, 1637, 5. P. Ireland, Bundle 286.
352 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVIL
that the days of this summer progress were the last of unalloyed
Ormondand happiness that he ever enjoyed. He could hardly
cianrickard. <j ou 5t what was the cause of this unexpected loyalty.
At Gahvay, two years before, he had acted in defiance of the
great tribal lord the Earl of Cianrickard. At Limerick he was
acting with the warm support of the Earl of Ormond.
Whether it would have been possible by patience to bring
the other lords to follow Ormond's example, it is impossible
now to say. Patience was no part of Wentworth's character.
In any case, the impulse to improvement must have come
from the Crown, and the improvement to which he looked was
rather to be found in the benefits derived by the poor from
orderly government, than in the increased activity of the rich.
" It is most rare," he wrote about this time, " that the
Wentworth's , . . _ . , . . , ,
view of Irish lower sort of the Irish subject hath not in any age
lived so preserved from the pressures and oppressions
of the great ones as now they do ; for which, I assure you, they
bless God and the King, and begin to discern and taste the
great and manifold benefits they gather under the shadow, and
from the immediate dependence upon the Crown, in compari-
son of the scant and narrow coverings they formerly borrowed
from their petty yet imperious lords." l
Such work was not likely to conduce to the formation of a
correct judgment on English and Scottish affairs. "Mr. Prynne's
case," he wrote in October, " is not the first wherein
Oct. lo.
Wentworth's I have resented the humour of the time to cry up
English and magnify such as the honour and justice of the
King and State have marked out and adjudged
mutinous to the Government, and offensive to the belief and
reverence the people ought to have in the wisdom and integrity
of the magistrate. Nor am I now to say it anew .... that a
prince that loseth the force and example of his punishments,
loseth withal the greatest part of his dominion ; and yet still,
methinks, we are not got through the disease nay, I fear, do
not sufficiently apprehend the malignity of it. In the mean
time a liberty thus assumed, thus abused, is very insufferable ;
1 Went worth to Coke, Aug. 15, Stratford Letters, ii. 88.
1037- WENTWORTH AND HAMPDEN. 353
but how to help it I krtow not, till I see the good as resolute
in their good as we daily observe the bad to be in
their evil ways, which God of His grace infuse into
us ; for such are the feeble and faint motions of human frailty,
that I do not expect it thence." '
To Wentworth, Hampden's case appeared no better than
that of Prynne. " Mr. Hampden," he complained to Laud,
"is a great Brother, and the very genius of that
nation of people leads them always to oppose civilly
as ecclesiastically all that ever authority ordains for them ;
but, in good faith, were they right served, they should bd
whipped home into their right wits, and much beholden they
should be to any that would thoroughly take pains with them
I6s8 in that kind." " In truth," he wrote some months
April 10. j aterj u i st ju w ; s h ^ ^ > M r Hampden and others to
his likeness were well whipped into their right senses ; if that
the rod be so used that it smarts not, I am the more sorry." *
Whatever may have been the exact form of punishment
which Wentworth designed for Hampden, there can be no
lui 28 doubt that he was ready to expend all his energy on
Wentwotth's the Scottish Covenanters. One plan, indeed, which
th^ario" had been suggested in London, that the Earl of
Antrim 3 should be allowed to raise a force to attack
the West of Scotland, found no favour in his eyes. He told
the King that he thought but meanly of Antrim's ' parts, of his
power, or of his affections.' It would not be safe to trust him
with arms. If he did not misuse them himself, the Scottish
colonists were strong enough to seize upon them for their own
ends. The Irish Government could not spare a man of its
small army for service in Scotland. Three or four thousand
foot, however, might be levied for the purpose. If this were
done, the greater number ought to be of English birth. If
Irishmen were allowed to receive a military training in Scotland,
they might be dangerous after their return.
1 Wentworth to Laud, Oct. 18, Strafford Letters, ii. 119.
* Idem, Nov. 27. April 10, Strafford Letters, ii. 136, 156.
1 He had married Buckingham's widow, as Lord Dunluce, in his
father's lifetime.
VOL. VIII. A A
554 THE 'ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVir.
When Wentworth wrote this letter, he had in his hand a
copy of the last protestation of the Scots. It left no doubt on
his mind that they were aiming at a change in the
of'theCove- basis of government. One of his chaplains had
recently visited Edinburgh. An attempt, Wentworth
said, had been made to force him ' to sign and swear some-
thing which ' he thought they called 'their Covenant with
God/ If it be such, he sneeringly added, ' it will learn them
obedient to their King very shortly.' '
As yet Wentworth's advice on the policy to be pursued
towards the Scots had not been asked. He therefore un-
ju'iy 30 bosomed himself in a private letter to Northumber-
Skttches the land. If the insolency of the Scots, he said, were
policy to be
pursued ; no t ' thoroughly corrected,' it was impossible to fore-
see all the evil consequences that would follow. It was true
that the preparations in England were not sufficiently advanced
to justify an immediate declaration of war. But there should
be no furthei concessions to the Scots. ' To their bold and
unmannerly demand ' for a Parliament, ' mixed with a threat
that otherwise they' would 'betake themselves to other counsel,'
his Majesty should reply that ' it was not the custom of the
best and mildest of kings to be threatened into parliaments, or
to be circumscribed with days and hours by their subjects.'
Their present conduct, he should say, was ' more than ever he
expected from them which profess the religion which decries
all such tumultuous proceedings of people against their sove-
reign.' He should ask what they would have thought ' if the
Papists of England or Ireland ' had done the like, and should
inform them that he would give them leisure 'to consider the
modesty, the reverence, wherewith they were to approach God's
anointed, and their King, and so to frame their petitions and
supplications as that they might be granted without diminution
to his height and Royal estate.'
Wentworth's plan for the reduction of Scotland was in the
main the same as that which had been propounded by Bankes,
though it was put in a somewhat more practical shape. To
1 Weutvvorth to the King, July 28, Stratford Letters, ii. 187.
1638 WENTWORTWS PLEA. 355
prepare for the worst, Berwick and Carlisle must be garrisoned,
and suggests an ^ ^ e troops there, as well as the trained bands
a plan for Q f fa e nor thern counties, must be diligently exer-
conducting J
the war. cised during the winter, so as to have a disciplined
army ready at the commencement of the summer, without any
previous expense to the exchequer. If the Scots continued
refractory their ports could then be blockaded, and their
shipping seized. Under this stress, their new unity would
speedily be dissolved. Partisans of the King would spring up
on every side. No unnecessary cruelty must delay the work of
submission. Seditious ministers must be merely imprisoned.
There must be no death on the scaffold, however richly it might
be deserved. Scotland would soon prostrate herself at the feet
of the King.
Then for Wentworth never failed to form a clear concep-
tion of his ultimate aim would come a new day of govern-
His ultimate ment for Scotland. It was to be ruled as Ireland
aim. was j-uiedj by a Council of its own, acting in strict
subordination to the English Privy Council. The religious
difficulty was to be settled on much the same principle. No
extemporary prayers, no Book of Common Order was to be
tolerated. Neither was any new-fangled Liturgy to be forced
upon the people. They must be content to accept the time-
honoured Prayer Book of the English Church, the Protestantism
of which was beyond dispute.
If Wentworth, as he undoubtedly did, underestimated the
strength which a struggle for national existence would give to
Scotland, he overestimated still more the devotion of the Eng-
lish people to their King. He imagined that his countrymen
were still animated by that fiery loyalty which was peculiarly
his own. " Your Lordship," he wrote in conclusion,
He holds
that the "may say: How shall money be found to carry us
safety of the , i i < i T i / i
p-opie is the through the least part of this ? In good faith, every
ughest law. man w m ^ & -^ j hope, f rom his children, upon such
an extremity as this, when no less verily than all we have comes
thus to the stake. In a word, we are, God be praised, rich
and able, and in this case it may be justly said, Sa/us populi
A A 2
356 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVII,
suprema lex, and the King must not want our substance for the
preservation of the whole." '
Such was Wentworth's confession of faith. He believed
in his heart of hearts that to fight for the King in this cause
was to fight ' for the preservation of the whole.'
It may well be that in Scotland no middle course between
a complete conquest and an absolute relinquishment of power
was in any way possible. After all that had passed,
No middle . i , ," , ,
course pos- it was hopeless to expect that Charles s authority
' ble ' would ever again strike root in the heart of the
Youth of Scottish nation. One man indeed there was who, in
Montrose. a f ter vearSj was t o believe it possible, and who was
destined to dash himself to pieces, in the Royal cause, against
the rocky strength of Covenanting Scotland. That man was
still a fiery youth, throwing himself heart and soul into the
cause of the Covenant. James Graham, Earl of Montrose,
xvas born in 1612, and succeeded to his father's title as a mere
lad in 1626. Educated at St. Andrews, he was easily supreme
in those bodily exercises in which youths of gentle birth sought
distinction. He bore away the prize for archery ; he was noted
1 1626. for his firm seat on horseback, and for the skill with
1629. which he managed his arms. Married at the early
age of seventeen, after four years of wedded happiness, he
1633. sought pleasure and instruction in a prolonged tour
1636. on the Continent. When he returned in 1636 he
passed through England, and asked Hamilton for an introduc-
ts tricked by ^ on * * ne King. Hamilton, if report speaks truly,
Hamilton. was jealous of the young man, and played off on
him one of his masterpieces of deception. Telling him that the
King could not endure a Scotchman, he prepared him for an
unfavourable reception. He then warned the King that Mont-
rose was likely to be dangerous in Scotland. The traveller was
therefore received with coolness, and returned home highly dis-
contented. The man with whom he was most closely connected,
his brother-in-law, the excellent Lord Napier, and his kinsman,
the Earl of Airth, were at the same time loyal to the Sovereign
1 Wentworth to Northumberland, July 30, Strafford Letters ; ii. 189.
1638 MONTROSE AS A COVENANTER* 357
and hostile to Hamilton, whom they regarded with disfavour
as withdrawing the management of Scottish affairs from Edin-
burgh to Whitehall, and against whom they were embittered by
one of those family feuds which were still potent in Scotland. 1
Before 1637 came to an end, Montrose was in the thick of
the opposition. When once he had chosen his side, he was
sure to bear himself as a Paladin of old romance.
Montrose's If he made any cause his own, it was not with the
' ter * reasoned calculation of a statesman, but with the
fond enthusiasm of a lover. When he afterwards transferred
his affections from the Covenant to the King, it was as Romeo
transferred his affections from Rosaline to Juliet. He fought
for neither King nor Covenant, but for that ideal of his own
which he followed as Covenanter or Royalist. He went ever
straight to the mark, impatient to shake off the schemes of
worldly-wise politicians and the plots of interested intriguers;
Nature had marked him for a life of meteoric splendour, to
confound and astonish a world, and to leave behind him an
inspiration and a name which would outlast the ruin of his
hopes.
In 1638 Montrose could be nothing but a patriotic Scots-
1 The story of Hamilton's treatment of Montrose comes from Heylyn
(Life of Laud, 350). It is there connected with a story about another
Graham, Earl of Menteith, who had a kind of claim to the throne of Scot-
land on the ground of the questionable legitimacy of Robert III., through
whom the crown had descended. The King, through a legal process, had
deprived him of his titles, though he subsequently granted him the earl-
dom of Airth by a fresh creation. The whole of his story will be found in
Masson's Druinmond of Ha\i>thorni1en t 185. Heylyn says that Hamilton
told the King that Montrose was ' of such esteem amongst the Scots, by
reason of an old descent from the Royal family, that he might take part in
supporting his kinsman's claim.' It must be remembered that though
Hamilton did not put in any claim to the throne against Charles, he was
in the line of succession, and was therefore personally interested in the
putiing down any claim by Menteith. Mr. Napier has pointed out that
Heylyn probably derived his information from Lord Napier. It is difficult
to say what amount of credit is due to the narrative printed in the Appen-
dix to the Hamilton Paptrs, but the rivalry between Montrose and Hamil-
ton, there alleged to have existed, falls in very well with Heylyn's story.
358 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVII.
man, and as a patriotic Scotsman he threw himself without an
,6 3 8. afterthought into the whirl of political strife. He
a'cov- seas Detested and distrusted Hamilton, as he afterwards
namer. detested and distrusted Argyle. He had been one
of those who had listened to Hamilton's appeal to the ' kindly
Scots,' and the incident had made a deep impression on his
mind. When a decision was to be taken or a protestation
read, he was certain to be foremost. 1 The Covenanting leaders
knew how to make good use of his fervid energy. Scarcely had
Hamilton turned his back on Edinburgh, when they launched
Montrose against Aberdeen.
A great national uprising makes scant account of corporate
privilege or individual liberty. He who stands sneeringly, or
The Aber- even hesitatingly, apart from it is soon regarded as a
deen doctors. p OSS jble traitor, if not as an actual traitor, who waits
for an opportunity to strike. Ministers who had refused to sign
the Covenant had been silenced, ill-treated, and driven from
their homes. Only in one place in Scotland did they gather
thickly enough to hold their own. The Aberdeen doctors,
indeed, were no enthusiastic supporters of Charles's ill-fated
Prayer Book. They felt no attraction to Laud and his Beauty
of Holiness. They were faithful disciples of the school which
had been founded by Patrick Forbes. The danger which they
foresaw was that which is inseparable from every popular, ex-
citement, and especially from every popular religious excite-
ment. They feared for their quiet studies, for their right to
draw unmolested their own conclusions from the data before
them. They were Royalists ; not as Laud and Wren were
Royalists, but after the fashion of Chillingworth and Hales.
1 Gordon's story (i. 33) may be true, though it looks as if it were
dressed up after the event, and \vas certainly written after 1650. "It is
reported that at one of these protestations at Edinburgh Cross, Montrose
standing up upon a puncheon that stood on the scaffold, the Earl of Rothes
in jest said unto him, ' James,' says he, ' you will not be at rest till you he
lifted up there above the rest in three fathom of rope.' .... This was,
afterwards accomplished in earnest in that same place. Some say that
the same supports of the scaffold were made use of at Montrose 's exe-
cution."
HUNTL Y AND THE NORTH. 359
Under the name of authority they upheld the noble banner of
intellectual freedom. Under Charles they had such liberty as
they needed ; under the Covenant they were not likely to have
any liberty at all.
So matters looked at Aberdeen. It was impossible that
they should be so regarded in Edinburgh. The liberty of the
Aberdeen doctors might easily become the slavery
Danger from of Scotland. If the northern city were occupied by
the King's forces, it would become to Covenanting
Scotland what La Vendee afterwards became to Republican
France. The risk was the greater because Aberdeen had other
forces behind it than those which were supplied by the logic of
its colleges. It lay close to the territory occupied by the
Huntly and powerful Gordon kindred, at the head of which was
Argyie. tne Marquis of Huntly. Huntly in the north-east,
like Argyie in the south-west, was more than an eminent
Scottish nobleman. These two were as kings within their own
borders. Each of them had authority outside the mountains.
Each of them was a Celtic chieftain as well as a peer of the
realm. Far away from Argyle's castle at Inverary, far away
from Huntly's castle at the Bog in Strathbogie, the frontiers of
rival authority met.
Of the two, Huntly's power was less Celtic than that of
Argyie, and was therefore more exposed to attack from the
Huntly's southern populations. An invading army might
royahsm. easily keep clear of the mountains by clinging to
that strip of lowland country which stretches along the shores
of the Moray Firth. Huntly's family had risen to power by the
defence of this more civilised district against lawless attacks
from the dwellers in the hills. It was a district isolated from
Southern influences, and Huntly's immediate predecessors had
retained the faith of the ancient Church. They had therefore
looked with jealousy upon any government seated at Edinburgh,
and in proportion as the King had become estranged from
the sentiments prevailing in the South of Scotland, he would
be regarded as the natural ally of his subjects in the North.
Huntly's own position was such as to place him at the head of
a struggle for local independence. The victory of the national
360 THE ASSEMBL Y OF GLASGO W. CH. Lxxxvii.
party would reduce his power to that of an ordinary nobleman.
To a messenger sent to urge him to throw in his lot with his
countrymen, he replied that ' his family had risen and stood by
the kings of Scotland, and for his part, if the event proved the
ruin of this king, he was resolved to lay his life, honours, and
estate under the rubbish of the King's ruins.' '
On July 20, Montrose entered Aberdeen. According to
the custom of the place, a cup of wine was offered to him as
an honoured guest. He refused to drink it till the
July 20.
Montrose at Covenant had been signed. He brought with him
cen ' three preachers Henderson, Dickson, and Cant.
All the churches closed their doors against them. They
preached in the streets in vain. The men of Aberdeen would
not sign the Covenant. In the neighbourhood signatures were
obtained amongst families which, like the Forbeses, were jealous
of Huntly's power. Their example and the pressure of military
force brought in a few subscribers. Two ministers appended
their names with a protest that they remained loyal
y 29 ' and obedient to the King ; and the reservation was
accepted, not only by Montrose, but by Henderson and Dickson
as well. 2
Such a reservation, to be differently interpreted in different
mouths, would probably have been accepted by all Scotland.
. j 2 No such simple means of saving his own dignity
Hamilton's would commend itself to Charles. After consultation
with Hamilton, he gave way so far as to authorise the
meeting of an Assembly and a Parliament. Hamilton was to
do his best to obtain as much influence for the bishops in the
Assembly as he possibly could. He was to protest against any
motion for the abolition of their order, but he might consent
to any plan for making them responsible for their conduct to
future Assemblies. If this was objected to, Hamilton was ' to
yield anything, though unreasonable, rather than to break.'
Difficult as it would probably be to obtain the consent of
Scotland to this compromise, it was made more difficult by a
1 Garden, i. 49.
* General Demands concerning the Covenant, Aberdeen, 1662, Sfald-
i*g> i- 93- -
1638 HAMILTON'S RETURN TO SCOTLAND. 36!
gratuitous obstacle of Charles's own invention. The Covenant
TheConfes- was neither to be passed over in silence nor ex-
sion of 1567. p] ame( ] awa y. It was to be met by the resuscitation
of a Confession of Faith which had been adopted by the Scottish
Parliament in 1567, and which, though strongly Protestant in
tone, naturally passed entirely over all controversies of a later
date. To this Confession Charles now added clauses binding
those who accepted it to defend ' the King's Majesty's sacred
person and authority, as also the laws and liberties, of the
country under his Majesty's sovereign power.' This document
was to be circulated for subscription in Scotland, not in addition
to, but in substitution for, the National Covenant. All ministers
expelled for refusing to sign the National Covenant were to be
restored to their parishes. All ministers admitted to a parish
without the intervention of the bishop were to be expelled. 1
With these instructions Hamilton started once more for
Scotland. On August 10 he reached Edinburgh. He found
Aug. 10. himself at once involved in a controversy on the
"co^d'm'li constitution of the Assembly which he had come to
sion. announce. What Charles proposed was an exclusively
clerical Assembly, in which the bishops should, if possible,
preside. The Covenanting leaders would not hear of the
arrangement. They were hardly likely to forget how Spottis-
woode had threatened the ministers with the loss of their
stipends at the Perth Assembly, and they knew enough of
what was passing in London to distrust the King's intentions.
Whether there be truth or not in the story which tells how
Scottish grooms of the bed-chamber rifled the King's pockets
after he was in bed, so as to learn the contents of his secret
correspondence, 2 there can be no doubt that his projects were
known in Scotland even better than they were known
H is efforts J
to divide the in England. Hamilton's efforts to divide the King's
Covenanters. , . . , ,
opponents served but to weld them together m more
compact unity. When he talked to the nobles of the folly of
1 Bui-net, 65.
2 It is in favour of this story that Henrietta Maria, after she left
England in 1642, advised her husband to be careful of his pockets, where
be then kept the key to the cypher used between them.
362 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVII.
reimposing on their own necks that yoke of Presbytery which
their fathers had been unable to bear, he was told that Epis-
copacy was not the only means of averting the danger. Lay
elders formed a part of the Presbyterian constitution, and
under that name it would be easy for noblemen and gentlemen
to find their way into the Church courts, where they would
have no difficulty in keeping in check any attempt at clerical
domination. It is true that this prospect was not altogether
pleasing to the ministers, and that many of them were somewhat
alarmed at the growing influence of a nobility which would
probably become lukewarm in the cause of the Church as soon
as their own interests were satisfied. But the nobles told the
clergy plainly, that if their support was wanted it must be taken
on their own terms, and the chance that Charles would keep
the engagements to which he had advanced with such hesitating
steps was not sufficiently attractive to induce the clergy to
abandon those protectors who had stood by them hitherto
without flinching.
On August 13 Hamilton laid before the Privy Council his
scheme for the pacification of Scotland. All extraordinary
Aug. 13. assemblies of the clergy and laity were to be broken
andThe 011 U P' anc ^ bishops and expelled ministers were to be
Council. protected in their lawful cures. At the elections to
the Assembly no layman was to have a vote, and the Council
was ' to advise to give satisfaction anent the Covenant, or to
renounce the same.' So unfavourable was the recep-
Aug. 25.
He returns tion of these proposals, that Hamilton returned once
Engand. more to E n g] an d f or further instructions ; having
first obtained from the Covenanters a. promise that they would
not proceed to any self-authorised elections till September 21,
by which time he hoped to be back in Scotland. 1
When, on September 17, Hamilton appeared for the third
Sept. 17. ti me in Edinburgh, he brought with him what must
Hamilton's have seemed to Charles unlimited concessions. He was
third mis-
sion, to issue a summons for the meeting of the Assembly
and Parliament, and to content himself, as far as the elections
1 Baillie^ i, 98. Sf aiding, i. 98. Buntet, 69. Large Declaration
III. v,J
THE KING'S COVENANT. 363
to the former body were concerned, with coming as near as was
possible to the forms observed in the preceding reign. He was
to declare that the King absolutely revoked ' the Service Book,
the Book of Canons, and the High Commission,' that he sus-
pended the practice of the Articles of Perth, and was ready to
consent to their entire abolition, if Parliament wished him to
do so. Episcopacy was to be limited in such a way that the
bishops in future would be responsible to the Assembly for
their conduct.
Charles did not stop here. It is true that he no longer
directly asked for the surrender of the National Covenant. He
The King's abandoned also the idea of sending round for signa r
Covenant. j ure fae Confession of 1567. But he seems to have
thought it necessary to preserve his dignity by sending round
for signature some document of his own. This time it was to
consist of the Confession drawn up in 1580, which formed the
basis of the National Covenant. Naturally, Johnston's additions
were to be omitted, and they were to be replaced by a certain
Covenant which had been drawn up in 1590, the signers of
which had bound themselves to stand by the King in ' suppress-
ing of the Papists, promotion of true religion, and settling of
His Highness' estate and obedience in all the countries and
corners of the realm.' '
On the 22nd the Privy Councillors, after some hesitation,
signed the King's Covenant. The same day a proclamation
was made at the Cross. It began by announcing the
Procfama 3 concessions intended. It then called on the people
A"embi he to s ^ n t ^ ie ncw C venant j not because any fresh
and Pania- attestation of their own faith was needed, but in order
that the King might thereby assure his subjects that
he never intended ' to admit of any change or alteration in the
true religion already established and professed.' Finally, an
Assembly was summoned to meet at Glasgow on November 21,
and a Parliament on May i5. 2
By a few Scotsmen who, like Drummond of Hawthornden,
had watched with anxiety the leagues of the nobles and the
1 Burnet, 75. Peterkin's Records, 8l.
364 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. Lxxxvn.
violence of the clergy, the proclamation was hailed as a message
of peace. ' By the mass of Drummond's countrymen it was
Another pro- received with profound distrust. As its words died
testation. away, there followed another protestation, more sharp
and defiant than any before. Scotland had made up its mind
to have no more to do with bishops, whether their power was
to be limited or unlimited. The introduction of a new Covenant
without apparent reason was in itself certain to arouse suspicion.
The question at once arose, for what purpose were their
signatures demanded ? The explanation given by the King was
why should unintelligible. " If we should now enter upon this
covenant be new subscription," said the protestors their words
signed? were j n a u probability the words of Henderson 2
" we would think ourselves guilty of mocking God, and taking
His name in vain ; for the fears that began to be poured forth
at the solemnising of the Covenant are not yet dried up and
wiped away, and the joyful noise which then began to sound
hath not yet ceased ; and there can be no new necessity from
us, and upon our part pretended, for a ground of urging this
new subscription, at first intended to be an abjuration of Popery,
upon us who are known to hate Popery with an unfeigned
hatred, and have all this year byegone given large testimony of
our zeal against it. As we are not to multiply miracles on God's
part, so ought we not to multiply solemn oaths and covenants
upon our part, and thus to play with oaths as children do with
their toys without necessity." 3
Behind the controversy about the King's Covenant ap-
peared another controversy, more serious still. Charles
thought he had done much in offering to place the
Assembly bishops under limitations. He was told that all such
questions were beyond his competence. The As-
sembly would deal with them as it saw fit. It, not the King,
was divinely empowered to judge of all questions relating to the
Church.
Such was the declaration of war it was nothing less
1 .Drummond's Irene. Works, 163.
This is the suggestion of Prof. Masson, Life of Milton, ii. 33.
' Peterkin's Records, 86.
1638 THE ELECTIONS IN SCOTLAND. 365
issued by the Scottish Covenanters. At the heart of the long
The Protes- appeals to Scripture and to Presbyterian logic lay the
tation a de- sense o f national independence. Episcopacy was a
clarauon ot * f J
war - foreign substance, which had never been assimilated
by the living organism into which it had been introduced by
force and fraud.
The attempt to procure signatures to the King's Covenant
was almost a total failure. Loyal Aberdeen and its neighbour-
hood produced 12,000 signatures ; only 16,000 more
Ki^s^ove* could be obtained fiom the rest of Scotland. A
mad woman named Margaret Michelson, who went
about saying that she was inspired to declare that the National
Covenant came from Heaven, and that the King's Covenant
was the work of Satan, was very generally regarded as a pro-
phetess. 1
In the face of such evidence of popular feeling, it hardly-
mattered under what system the votes in the election of mem-
The electoral Ders f tne Assembly WCrC recorded. The Coven-
machinery. an ters, however, treated it as a matter of course
that an Act passed by an Assembly held in 1597 was to be
accepted as the constitutional rule, all later Acts being held
to have been null and void. Hamilton's efforts to introduce
jealousy between the gentry and the clergy were without effect.
The constituency in each Presbytery was composed of the
minister and one lay elder from each parish. By this con-
stituency three ministers were chosen to represent the Presby-
tery, whilst the gentry of the same district returned a lay elder
to represent themselves. Edinburgh was separately represented
by two members, and the other boroughs by one member
apiece.
It would have puzzled the sharpest logician to give any
satisfactory reason why a body, brought into existence by this
particular kind of electoral machinery, should be
tile^f- c held to speak with Divine authority, rather than a
body brought into existence in some other way. But
there could be no doubt that it could speak with a national
Burnett 8l. Cordon ; i. 131.
366 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. Lxxxvih
authority as no merely clerical assembly could have spoken.
Whatever Scotland was, in its strength and its weakness, in its
fierce uncompromising dogmatism, in its stern religious enthu-
siasm, in its worldly ambition and hair-splitting argumentative-
ness, in its homely ways and resolute defiance of a foreign
creed and of a foreign worship, was reflected, as in a mirror, in
the Assembly which was now elected in the teeth of the King's
Commissioner.
Charles could hardly avoid taking up the glove thrown
down. To allow that he had neither part nor lot, either in the
Charles re- constitution of the Assembly or in the decisions to
take e upthe wn i c h it might come, would be to acknowledge that
challenge. tne kj n gly authority was no more than a cipher in
Scotland ; and he knew instinctively that if he gave way in
Scotland he would soon be called upon to give way in England
as well. The only question now was on what ground the chal-
lenge was to be accepted. The Scottish bishops, knowing what
was before them, advised that the very meeting of the Assembly
should be prohibited. Hamilton argued that, if this were done,
the Covenanters would allege that the King had never seriously
intended that any Assembly should meet at all ; and Charier
was of the same opinion as Hamilton.
Hamilton's plan was, that the Assembly should be allowed
to proceed to business. His first care would be to lay before
it the scheme of modified Episcopacy which had
Hamilton's been foreshadowed in the late proclamation. If
this were rejected, as it would certainly be, and if the
bishops were summoned as culprits to the bar, he would then
dissolve the Assembly and declare those who concurred in this
course to be traitors to the King. ! The bishops, on their part,
would be feady with a declinator, denouncing the Assembly
as unconstitutionally elected, and as disqualified, in any case,
from passing sentence upon bishops.
At last, the position taken up by Charles was clearly marked.
There was no thought now of gaining time by spinning out
negotiations which were to come to nothing. If the Scots
1 Hamilton to tfce King, Oct. 22, Hamilton Papers, 46.
1638 IMPENDING WAR. 36?
would have accepted Charles's offer of limited Episcopacy, and
The King's nave \ e & tne question of sovereignty untouched, he
intentions. wou l(j probably have been content to see his con-
cessions put in force, however unpalatable they were to him-
self. He knew well, however, that the question of sovereignty
was at stake, aud he doubtless felt the less anxiety on the
score of the largeness of the concessions which he had made,
because he believed that they were certain to be rejected
"Your commands," Hamilton had lecently written to him,
" I conceive, chiefly tend at this time so to make a party here
for your Majesty, and once so to quiet this mad people, that
hereafter your Majesty may reign as king, and inflict the due
punishment on such as have so infinitely offended against your
Majesty's sacred authority." l
The Scottish leaders, if they knew what was passing in the
King's mind, as there can be little doubt that they did, had
Certainty of every reason to make the breach irreparable. They
resisiance. were not jj^giy t o nave muc h difficulty with their
followers. Large bodies of men, when once they are set in
motion, acquire a momentum of their own ; and every scrap of
news which reached them from England confirmed them in
the belief that the King meditated an attack upon Scotland,
whether his .terms were accepted or not. It was known that
Hamilton had purchased from Mar the command of
Edinburgh Castle ; and that it was only owing to the
strict watch kept upon it by the citizens that it had not been
provided with those warlike stores without which its garrison
would be unable to stand a siege. It was known, too, that a
trusty officer had been despatched to take charge of Dumbar-
ton, that preparations had been made for holding Berwick and
Carlisle in force, and for creating a magazine of military stores
at Hull. There had also been widely circulated a forged
speech, which the Duke of Lennox was said to have delivered
in defence of his native country, in the English Privy Council,
from which the inference was drawn that the English Council
entertained designs hostile to Scotland.
1 Hamilton to the King, Oct. If, Hamilton Papers, 42.
568 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVH.
As had usually happened in the course of these distractions,
the Covenanters took the aggressive. On October 24, they
Oct 2 appeared, in due legal form, before the Edinburgh
The bishops Presbytery, to charge the pretended bishops with
the 6 AS- r: having overstepped the limits of their powers, and
sembiy. eyen w > tn acts Q f dishonesty and profligacy, and re-
quested the Presbytery to refer their cases to the Assembly.
As might have been expected, this request was at once com-
plied with, and the accusation was ordered to be lead publicly
in all the churches of Edinburgh. 1
The step thus given induced Charles to resort to threats.
" You may take public notice," he wrote to Hamilton, " and
NOV. 17. declare that, as their carriage hath forced me to take
L h n e oimc<fs care to arm m >' se ^ a gainst any insolence that may be
that he is committed, so you may give assurance that my care
preparing J
for war. of peace is such that all those preparations shall be
useless, .except they first break out with insolent actions." As
for the threatened proceedings against the bishops, ' it was
never heard that one should be both judge and party.' The
very legality of the constitution of the Assembly was at issue,
and that was no matter to be determined by the Assembly
itself. He was still ready to perform everything that he had
promised, and was prepared to summon 'a new Assembly
upon the amendment of all the faults and nullities of this." 2
The Assembly, too, might well have asked whether Charles
himself were not a party rather than a judge ; but it preferred
NOV. si. action to recrimination. On November 21, it met in
Meeting of the Cathedral of Glasgow, the only one amongst the
sembiy. . Scottish cathedrals which had been saved from de-
struction and decay by the affectionate reverence of the towns-
men, and which had survived to witness the new birth of Pres-
byterianism. In spite of Hamilton's efforts to take the lead into
his hands, the Assembly remained master of itself. The speech
which he had prepared for the occasion remained unspoken.*
1 Large Declaration, 209.
1 The King to Hamilton, Nov. 17, Burnet, 99.
Compare Bur net, 94, with Baillie^'i. 124.
1638 THE ASSEMBLY CONSTITUTED. 369
His demand that the question of the elections should be im-
mediately taken up, was promptly refused. His proposal that
the Bishops' Declinator should be read was received with con-
tempt. The Assembly asserted its right to exist by proceeding
to the choice of a Moderator. l That Moderator was Alexander
Henderson. The Clerk was Johnston of Warriston.
The question being thus decided against him, Hamilton's
only object was to put off the evil hour of dissolution as long as
possible. The account which he gave the King was
Hamilton's gloomy beyond measure. "Yesterday, the 2ist," he
wrote, " was the day appointed for the downsitting of
the Assembly. Accordingly we met, and truly, sir, my soul was
never sadder than to see such a sight ; not one gown amongst
the whole company, many swords but many more daggers
most of them having left their guns and pistols in their lodg-
ings. The number of the pretended members are about 260 ;
each one of these hath two, some three, some four assessors,
who pretend not to have voice, but only are come to argue and
assist the Commissioners ; but the true reason is to make up a
great and confused multitude, and I will add, a most ignorant
one, for some Commissioners there are who can neither write
nor read, 2 the most part being totally void of learning, but re-
solved to follow the opinion of those few ministers who pretend
to be learned, and those be the most rigid and seditious Puri-
tans that live. What, then, can be expected but a total
disobedience to authority, if not a present rebellion ? Yet this
is no more than that which your Majesty hath had just reason
this long time to look for, which I would not so much appre-
hend if I did not find so great an inclination in the body of
your Council to go along their way ; for, believe me, sir, there
is no Puritan minister of them all who would more willingly be
freed of Episcopal governance than they would, whose fault it
is that this unlucky business is come to this height." 3
Though, by general confession, Hamilton played well the
1 Answering to the Speaker in the English House of Commons.
* This evidently refers to some of the lay members of the Assembly.
3 Hamilton to the King, Nov. 22, Hamilton Papers, 59.
VOL. VIII. B B
370 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVII.
part which he had undertaken, his attempt to get up a clerical
movement against the lay elders failed entirely. On
in the AS" the zyth, the Assembly declared itself duly consti-
tuted, and set aside three scantily signed petitions
NOV. 27. against the lay elders as unworthy of notice.
The AS- Hamilton knew that the breach could not be
semDIy con-
stituted, averted much longer. " So unfortunate have I been
Hamilton's m tm ' s unlucky country," he wrote to the King, "that
the ^". 1 f though I did prefer your service before all worldly
sembiy. considerations . . . yet all hath been to small purpose;
for I have missed my e'nd in not being able to make your
Majesty so considerable a party as will be able to curb the in-
solency of this rebellious nation without assistance from England,
and greater charge (to your Majesty than this miserable country
is worth." In his annoyance at the approach of that open
quarrel in which he expected to be the first to suffer, he dealt
his blows impartially around. Everyone, excepting himself
and the King, appeared to have been in fault. The
on the bishops had done things which were 'not justifiable
bishops. ^ the j awg , 4The j r pr j de was g reat) but their folly
was greater.' Some of them were not ' of the best lives.'
Others were 'inclined to simony.' He then, with characteristic
His advice confidence in schemes as yet untried, assured the
dutt h ofthe King that success would be easily secured. By block-
war - ading the seaports he would ruin the commerce of the
country. So far Hamilton was of one mind with Wentworth ;
but he believed what Wentworth did not believe, that it was
still possible to raise a force in Scotland to fight on Charles's
side. Huntly, he argued, should be named as the King's
lieutenant in the noith. Traquair or Roxburgh should hold
the same authority in the south. There should be a royal
commissioner no doubt, himself at the head of both. It
would be difficult to carry arms and ammunition into Edin-
burgh Castle, but it would be easy to secure Dumbarton by
sending soldiers from Ireland. " I have now only one suit to
your Majesty," he ended by saying " that if my sons live, they
may be bred in England, and made happy by service in the
Court ; and if they prove not loyal to the Crown, my curse be
1638 THE ASSEMBLY DISSOLVED. 371
on them. I wish my daughters be never married in Scot-
land." 1
On the 28th, the day after this letter was written, the crisis
arrived. The Bishops' Declinator was presented. Henderson
NOV. 28. put it to the vote whether the Assembly was a com-
DeciFnator ps> P etent j u dge of their cause, notwithstanding their
presented, assertion to the contrary. Before the answer was
Question ' ven Hamilton rose. He read the King's offer,
between that all grievances should be abolished, and that the
Hamilton
and the bishops should be responsible to future assemblies ;
but he refused to acknowledge the legality of the
Assembly before him. The only Assembly which he would
acknowledge was one elected by ministers alone, and composed
of ministers alone. In a long speech Henderson ascribed to
the King very large powers indeed, even in ecclesiastical
matters. The constitutional point raised by Hamilton he alto-
gether evaded. No assembly likes to hear an attack on the
basis upon which it rests. This one refused to re-open a
question which it probably considered as settled by its previous
rejection of the petitions against the lay elders. Hamilton
pleaded in vain for further delay. "I must ask," said the
Moderator, "if this assembly finds themselves competent
judges." A warm debate ensued. " If the bishops," said
Loudoun, " decline the judgment of a National Assembly, I
know not a competent judgment seat for them but the King of
Heaven." "I stand to the King's prerogative," replied the
commissioner, " as supreme judge over all causes civil and eccle-
siastical, to whom I think they may appeal, and not let the
causes be reasoned here."
No common understanding was any longer possible. After
a few more words, Hamilton declared the Assembly to be dis-
solved in the King's name, and left the church. As
dissolves" the soon as he was gone, the Assembly resolved that it
Assembly. ^^ entitled to remain in session in spite of anything
that had been done. Its first act was to pass a vote claiming
competency to sit in judgment on the bishops.
1 Hamilton to the King, Nov. 27, Hardwicke S. J. ii. 1 13.
B B 2
372 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVIL
At the moment of Hamilton's departure an incident occurred
from which the Assembly must have derived no slight encourage-
Argyie's rnent. Argyle, like Huntly, was a potentate exercising
declaration, almost royal power. He could bring 5, ooo Highlanders
into the field. Like Huntly, he came of a family which had long
kept up its attachment to the Papal Church, and his father, who
had lately died, had been for many years in the military service of
the King of Spain in the Netherlands. During his father's absence
he had exercised over the clan the authority which he now bore
in his own name. Refusing to follow his father in his adoption
of the Roman Catholic religion, he adapted himself to the
habits and ideas of the inhabitants of the southern lowlands.
He was often to be seen in Edinburgh, and he took his place
as a member of the Privy Council. He thus early became a
national, rather than, like Huntly, a local politician. As a
nobleman, he shared in the jealousy of the bishops which was
common to his class ; but he was politic and wary, not willing
to commit himself hastily to any cause, and tied to more than
ordinary caution by his rank as a Privy Councillor. He was
ambitious of power, and unscrupulous in his choice of means.
Unlike the other noblemen of the time, he was absolutely
without personal courage. He could not look upon a hostile
array without being overcome by sheer terror. Something of
this feeling was manifested in his political career. He had the
sure instinct which led him to place himself on the s'de of
numbers, the pride, too, of capacity to grasp clearly the ideas
of which those numbers were dimly conscious. In times of
trouble, such capacity is power indeed. Then, if ever, the
multitude, certain of their aim, uncertain of the means by which
that aim is to be reached, look for the guidance of one in
whose mental power they can repose confidence, and whose
constancy they can trust. Such a man was Argyle. It is
probable enough that there was no conscious hypocrisy in the
choice which he was now to make. He would hardly have
maintained himself in power so long as he did if he had not
shared the beliefs of those around him. He was probably as
incapable of withstanding a popular belief as he was of with-
standinu an armv of his foes. At all events, the time was now
1638 ARGYLE CHOOSES HIS SIDE. 373
come for him to declare himself. When Hamilton swept out
of the church, followed by the members of the Privy Council,
Argyle alone remained behind. He took the part of the many
against the few. " I have not striven to blow the bellows," he
said, " but studied to keep matters in as soft a temper as I could;
and now I desire to make it known to you that I take you all
for members of a lawful Assembly, and honest countrymen."
Till December. 20 the Assembly remained in session. As
a matter of course, it swept away the Service Book, the Canons,
_. , and the Articles of Perth. It received with boundless
December. . .
Further pro- credulity every incredible charge reported on the
the AS- merest hearsay against the bishops. It declared epis-
copacy to be for ever abolished, and all the Assemblies
held in episcopal times to be null and void. It re-established
the Presbyterian government, and ejected those ministers whose
teaching had not been consonant with Calvinistic orthodoxy. 1
The challenge thus uttered by the Scottish Assembly was
in the main the same as that which had been uttered by the
English Parliament in 1629, and which was to be
Comparison
between the uttered again by it in 1640. The Assembly de-
Scottish J . J .
Assembly manded that the religion recognised by the nation
English itself should be placed beyond all contradiction, and
Parliament, ^at neither the King nor anyone else should venture
to modify its ceremonies or its creed. Many conditions were
present in the North to make the outbreak occur in Scotland
earlier than it did in England. Charles's attack upon the
religion of Scotland had been more sweeping and more pro-
vocative than anything that he had done in England. The
Scottish nation, too, was more ready to combine than the
English nation was. Government in England was a present
reality. In Scotland it was but the shadow of an absentee
sovereign. In the people itself, the influence of the Calvinistic
clergy produced a strange uniformity of thought and character.
Even the noblemen appear to have been cast very much in a
common mould. It is true that Argyle and Montrose stand
out amongst their fellows with distinct characters. The %est
1 Peterkin s Records, 128. Baillie, i. 165. Hamilton to the King,
Dec. I, Hamilton Papers, 62.
374 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVII,
are scarcely more than names. To pass from a history which
tells of Wentworth and Northumberland, Cottington and Port-
land, Essex and Saye, to a history which tells of Rothes and
Loudoun, Balmerino and Lindsay, is like passing from the
many-coloured life of the Iliad to the Gyas and Cloanthus of
the ^Eneid. The want of originality of character made com-
bination the easier. It made it the easier, too, to place the
real direction of the movement in the hands of the ministers.
Whatever forces were behind, the revolution which had been
effected was a Presbyterian revolution. The preacher was and
remained the guide and hero of Scottish nationality. The
preacher was strong because he appealed to an ideal conviction
larger and nobler than his logic. Bishops were to be proscribed,
not because particular bishops had done amiss, but in the
name of the principle of parity amongst all who were engaged
in the ministration of the same truths. The influence of the
King was to be set aside in the Church, not because Charles
had been unwarrantably meddlesome, but because the Church
knew but one Heavenly King. It is impossible to doubt that
the Scottish people grew the nobler and the purer for these
thoughts far nobler and purer than if they had accepted even
a larger creed at the bidding of any earthly king. Of liberty
of thought these Scottish preachers neither knew anything nor
cared to know anything. To the mass of their followers they
were kindly guides, reciprocating in their teaching the faith
which existed around them. Scotland was, however, no country
for eccentricities of thought and action. Hardihood was there,
and brave championship of the native land and the native
religion. Spiritual and mental freedom would have one day
to be learned from England.
Charles, after the rejection of his authority at Glasgow,
might wish for peace, but, unless he was prepared to sacrifice
War inevit- a ll tnat ^ e ^ a ^ ever counted worth struggling for, he
able - could not avoid war. For him the saying attributed
to his father, " No bishop, no king," was emphatically true.
Hff'had not chosen bishops in Scotland amongst men who
were imbued with the religious sentiment around them. He
had rather sought for those who would serve as instruments in
1638 WAR INEVITABLE. 375
imposing his own religious practice upon an unwilling people.
It is true that before the Assembly met at Glasgow, he had
surrendered all the original objects of contention. Liturgy
and Canons, Articles of Perth, and irresponsible episcopacy
had been given up. It is true that between Charles's moderate
episcopacy, responsible to Assemblies, and the direct govern-
ment of the Assemblies themselves, the difference does not
seem to have been very great ; but to a man like Charles
the appearance of victory was of greater importance than vic-
tory itself. He could not yield honourably and gracefully as
Edward I. and Elizabeth would have yielded, and he felt
that all was lost if he acknowledged that he had yielded to
force what he had not been ready to yield to argument. The
danger would not be confined to Scotland alone. His
authority in England rested not on armed force, but on tra-
ditional conviction that he was supreme over all causes eccle-
siastical and civil. If the Scottish Assembly claimed for itself
the supremacy in ecclesiastical causes, it would not be long
before the same claim would be put forward by an English
Parliament. The question between Charles and his subjects
was no longer one of forms of prayer and of Church govern-
ment. It had become one reaching to the very foundations of
political order.
Nor was it only upon his relations with England that
Charles was compelled to cast his eyes. He knew that his
position in the face of the Continental Powers was
foreign reia- seriously weakened by the Scottish troubles, and he
believed that those troubles had been fomented by
the French Government. His diplomacy had been as unsuc-
The congress cessful in the past year on the Continent, as it had
at Hamburg. been j n Edinburgh and Glasgow. His hopes of re-
covering the Palatinate for his nephew seemed as little likely
to be realised as they had ever been. The meeting of
ambassadors at Hamburg, to which had been referred the
conditions of the treaty which had been under negotiation at
Paris in 1637,' was long delayed, and it was not till the summer
1 See page 217.
376 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVII.
of 1638 that Sir Thomas Roe was despatched to meet the pleni-
potentiaries of France and Sweden in that city. Roe soon
found that he could accomplish nothing. Charles still asked
for an engagement from France and Sweden, that they would
make no peace without the full restoration of the Palatinate, and
those Powers still refused to comply with his wishes unless he
would bind himself to join them in war by land as well as by sea. 1
With this result Richelieu was well satisfied. He knew
that Charles, with the Scottish dispute on his hands, would be
unable to take part against France. More than that
Charles s re-
lations with he had long ceased to expect. 2
Charles himself was less clear-sighted. He had
He wishes to
help his already lent himself to schemes for placing his nephew
nephew. i ,. i i i
at the head of an army in the field, at the very moment
when he was looking in vain for the means of levying an army
against the Scots. He actually sent the young man 3o,ooo/.
to raise troops, and Charles Lewis used the money to buy the
allegiance of the garrison of Meppen. The Imperialists in the
Seizure of neighbourhood took the garrison by surprise, and oc-
the P i^pe b - y cu pi e d tri e town without any serious resistance. In
riaiuts. the summer the young Prince started from the Nether-
lands at the head of a small force to join the Swedes. The
Swedes were not anxious for his assistance, and left him unaided
in the face of the enemy. He himself escaped to
' e Hamburg, but his brother, Prince Rupert, with Lord
Craven and others of his principal officers, were taken
prisoners. Charles, however, did not relax his efforts. He kept
Meiander's U P f r some time a negotiation with Richelieu, with
troops. t h e object of inducing the Cardinal to share with him
the expense of procuring the services of a small army under
General Melander, which was at that time waiting to sell itself
to the highest bidder. Richelieu, however, preferred to ac-
quire the arrny for himself, and Charles was doomed to a fresh
disappointment. 3
1 Roe's despatches, S. P. Germany.
* Chavigny's despatches, Bibl. Nat. Fr. 15,915.
* Despatches in S. P. Holland and Germany. Chavigny to Bellievre,
Nov. 12, Dec. 14, Bibl. Nat. Fr. 15,915, fol. 208, 230,
1638 SECRET DIPLOMACY. 377
Earlier in the year, as soon as Charles had discovered that
no very zealous assistance was to be expected from Richelieu,
he turned in the direction of Spain. Under the
Charles s re- . *
lationswith name of a private merchant, he sold 3,000 barrels of
powder to the Government of the Spanish Nether-
lands, and lent the services of his fleet to convoy them safely
to Dunkirk. Then followed a lone secret negotia-
Secret nego-
tiation at tion with the Princess of Pfalzburg, a sister of the
exiled Duke of Lorraine, which was carried on by
Gerbier at Brussels with the sanction of the Cardinal Infant
The scheme of an alliance with Spain split on much the same
rock as that on which the conference at Hamburg had split.
The Spaniards required that Charles should immediately
declare war against France, and Charles required that the
Emperor and the Spaniards should immediately deliver up to
his nephew so much at least of the Palatinate as was actually
in their hands. 1 In the Council of State at Madrid, Olivares
scornfully asked how it was that Charles, who had his hands
full at home, could talk of affronting France and Holland.
No doubt, he added, the whole negotiation was mere trickery. 2
Charles had much to do to conceal from the world the
fact that all through the summer and autumn of 1638 he was
Charles and simultaneously offering his alliance to France and
Cardenas. to gpain. A despatch written by Cardenas, the
Spanish Resident in London, fell into the hands of the Swedes.
It contained a statement that the Emperor was negotiating
with the King of England, with the expectation that all diffi-
culties about the Palatinate would soon be settled at a con-
ference at Brussels. Luckily for Charles, Cardenas knew
nothing of the real negotiation in the hands of the Princess
of Pfalzburg, and had only been informed of a project put
forward without authority by Taylor, the English Resident at
Vienna, and disavowed by Charles as soon as it came to his
ears. Charles was therefore able with literal truth, though with
1 Some notices of this negotiation are in the Clarendon S. P. A full
account may be derived from Gerbier's own despatches, S. P. Flanders.
1 Consulta of the Council of State, Dec. , Simancas MSS. 2521.
378 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVII.
no more than literal truth, to protest loudly to the world that
he had been grossly calumniated, and that Taylor had acted
in defiance of his instructions. 1 Cardenas was suspended
from all intercourse with the Court, 2 and Taylor was recalled
and committed to the Tower. 3
Though neither France nor Spain entertained any hope of
serious aid from Charles, there were many indirect ways in
which his goodwill might be of use. Both Olivares
Richelieu's ,_.,,. , -
overtures to and Richelieu, therefore, were anxious to be on
friendly terms with the Queen. In March 1638 the
Cardinal conceded to her the boon for which she had been so
long begging, and released De Jars from captivity. 4 In April
April. a heavier weight was thrown into the opposite scale.
T r h ^iP uchess The Duchess of Chevreuse gay, witty, and licen-
pf Chevreuse ar-ji ji
in England, tious arrived to plot against the Cardinal from the
secure distance of the English Court.
The arrival of the Duchess was the precursor of the
1 Windebank to Hopton, Dec. 27, 1638. Windebank to Taylor,
Jan. II. Taylor's Relation, April 4, 1639, Clarendon MSS. 1161, 1170,
1218. Writing to Gerbier, Windebank blames him for not at once dis-
avowing the story. " This," he adds, " you might safely have done with-
out fearing to be guilty of Sir Henry Wotton's definition of an ambassador,
seeing you know there is no direct treaty at all between His Majesty and
them, and that all that has been done hath been by way of proposition
moving from that side and managed by second hands, His Majesty neither
appearing nor being engaged nor obliged to anything ; and to this purpose
His Majesty hath answered the French Ambassador ; namely, that some
propositions have been made to him from that side ; but hath absolutely
disavowed any formal or direct treaty at all, or that ever any letters to this
purpose have passed between himself and them ; and this, besides that it
is a truth, His Majesty had reason to do, unless he were more sure of the
success of that which hath been proposed from your parts, for by avowing
thit to be a treaty he is sure to dissolve that with France, and so he may
run hazard to lose both." Windebank to Gerbier, Jan. 4, 1639, S. P.
Flanders.
2 In the S. P. Spain is a copy of the intercepted despatch, together
with the correspondence with Cardenas on the subject.
* Windebank to Hopton. Sept. 29, 1639, Clarendon S. P. ii. 71.
Chavigny to Bellievre, j^, March , Bibl. Nat. Fr. 15,915, fol.
93, 97- See page 98.
1638 THE QUEEN MOTHER. 379
arrival of another visitor of more exalted rank. The Queen
Mother had long been weary of exile from France. All hopes
of her restoration by the help of an insurrection of her partisans
had long since passed away, and now that she had ceased to
be serviceable to Spain, she was treated with cold
1 he Queen
Mother at courtesy at Brussels. The pension doled out to her
was irregularily paid, and she looked back with fond
regret to her old sumptuous life at Paris, where courtiers and
artists had rivalled one another in doing her honour.
She could not believe that it was out of Charles's power to
obtain for her permission to return. Charles, at her entreaty,
put the question to the French Government. The
She desires r
to return to response was unfavourable. Mary de Medicis attri-
France. . I-I/-M ^ i
buted the failure to her presence on Spanish soil.
Under the pretext of. a visit to Spa, she left Brussels in the
beginning of August, and crossed the frontier into the Dutch
Aug. 4. Netherlands/' She was there received with every
nc s h sthe s ' n f res P ect by the Prince of Orange and the
frontier. States-General. Her presence soon caused a mis-
understanding between the Dutch Government and the French
p t Ambassador. The design of proceeding to England,
visit Eng- which had probably been formed long before, took
entire possession of her mind.
Charles had always steadily refused her permission to land
in his dominions. He knew that her mere presence would
help to embroil him with France, and that the men whom she
most trusted, Cogneux, Fabroni, and Monsigot, were steeped in
intrigue, and were Richelieu's bitterest enemies. He
Aug. 13. e '
Charles re- therefore at once sent instructions to Boswell, his
agent at the Hague, to remonstrate with her. Bos-
well's remonstrances were coldly received. At last
Aug. 30. , j i i
he learned that she was making secret preparations
Sept. 24. f or the voyage. He appealed to Fabroni, and
^ t Fabroni protested that there was no truth in the
report. The next day the Queen Mother embarked
for England. '
1 Coke to Boswell, Aug. 13 ; Boswell to Fahroni, Sept. 25 ; Boswell
to Windebank, Aug. 9, Sept. 8, 26, 27, S. P.' Holland.
3o THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVII.
On September 30 Monsigot presented himself before Charles
to announce that his mistress was already on the way, and that,
g^ unless he turned her away from his ports, she would
Monsigot's soon be on shore in England. Charles had not the
heart to repel her, but he would willingly have seen
her land without her disreputable train. Henrietta Maria's
pleadings against this insult to her mother bore down his op-
position, and orders were given that the mother of the Queen
of England should be received with all the honours due to her
exalted rank. No one, except her daughter, wished to see
Oct her in England. "I pray God," wrote Laud, "her
Laud's coming do not spend the King more than . . would
he n proposed content the Swedes." l There was no remedy. Her
arrival, said Windebank, " is so flat and sudden a
surprisal as, without our ports should be shut against her, it is
not to be avoided."
Mary de Medicis landed at Harwich on October 19. On
her way to London she was received with every sign of a cor-
Oct. 19. dial welcome. The King met her at Chelmsford.
MotheVfo 11 As sne P asse d through London, the Lord Mayor
England. offered her his hospitality. The streets were lined
with scaffoldings hung with rich cloths, and thronged by citizens
ready to do honour to their guest, or at least to satisfy their own
curiosity. At St. James's she was received by the Queen, who
had parted from her thirteen years before. With motherly
pride she presented her children to their grandmother. St.
James's Palace was assigned to her as a residence. 2
In vain Charles urged Louis to allow his mother to return
Newnego- to France, on her engagement to meddle no more
nation for
nation for w j^ p O iJtj cs . i n vam did she entreat Bellievre. the
her return to
France. French Ambassador, to plead her cause with the
Cardinal. The haughty widow of Henry IV. humiliated herself
1 Laud to Roe, Oct. 4, Works, vii. 486.
2 Sa\v<Mi's News-Letter, Oct. ^, Nov. -. La Serre, Flistoire de PEntrh
de la Reine-Mb~e. It is not necessary to believe all that the writer says
about the enthusiasm with which the Queen was greeted. He says that
the French Ambassador welcomed her, which is certainly untrue.
1638 BERNHARD OF WEIMAR. 381
to no purpose. She was told that if she would betake herself
December, to Florence a. provision suitable to her rank would be
the'^rotL- Destowe d upon her. In France she had always been
tion. troublesome, and she could not be admitted there.
Such an offer was unacceptable. Rather than revisit the home of
her childhood, where she would find herself a stranger amongst
strangers, she preferred to remain in England, a burdensome
pensioner on Charles's bounty. 1
The year 1638 did not end prosperously for Charles. His
overtures had been rejected both by France and Spain. The
The struggle Congress at Hamburg, without results for him, was
Uprar not without results for others. A fresh compact was
Rhme. made between France and Sweden for a renewed
attack upon the hereditary lands of the Emperor. Equipped
with French subsidies, Bernhard of Weimar fell upon those
Austrian lands upon the Upper Rhine, which barred the way
of the French armies. Before the year came to an end he had
won a great victory at Rheinfelden, and had forced the strong
fortress of Breisach to surrender. To Richelieu, the surrender
of Breisach gave the power of entering Germany at his pleasure.
It implied, too, the power of cutting off supplies sent by land
to the Spanish Netherlands. Richelieu felt that the great
objects of his ambition were already within his grasp. A few
months before, the birth of the Dauphin, who was afterwards
Louis XIV., had come to strengthen the basis of his power.
It would be a son of the master whom he had served who
would be the next ruler of France, not his enemy Gaston, or
any ally of the exiled Mary de Medicis.
The news of Bernhard's successes was almost as unwelcome
at Whitehall as the news of Hamilton's failure at Glasgow.
France was now strong in that very part of Germany
dissatisfac- from which the Palatinate might most easily be over-
awed. Nor was this all. The danger by land was
more than matched by the danger by sea. The French navy
was growing in numbers and efficiency. One French fleet had
1 Rellievre to Chavigny, Dec. - 3 , Arch, des Aff. tr. xlvii. 305.
Memoir for Bellievre, Jan. , Bibl. Nat. Fr. 15,915, fol. 258.
382 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVII*
burnt Spanish galleys in the Bay of Biscay. Another French
fleet had repulsed Spanish ships in the Gulf of Genoa. It was
by no means improbable that before long a triumphant French
Armada would sail up the Channel to join the Dutch in the
long-projected attack upon Dunkirk. No wonder Charles
looked with wondering bitterness upon the swelling tide of
Richelieu's success. No wonder that he fancied that he saw
the hand of Richelieu in the Scottish 'troubles. Everyone who
wished well to Charles was anxious that those troubles might
be allayed. Till peace were established in Scotland, England
could speak with but a feeble voice on the Continent. " The
news of Scotland," wrote Roe, " is mortal to our reputation
abroad. I hope it is not so ill as malignity spreads it." l
With the opening of the New Year therefore, Charles had
to face a Continental difficulty as well as a Scottish difficulty.
Nothing would ever persuade him that the two were
Relation of not far more closely connected than they really were.
troubkfto h Tne Scottish resistance seemed to him so entirely
Continental incomprehensible, that he could not account for it,
except on the supposition that Richelieu was at the
bottom of the whole movement, stirring up rebellion in the
North, in order to keep England from interfering on the Con-
tinent. In reality, Richelieu was doing nothing of the kind.
Thoroughly convinced that Charles was rushing upon his own
ruin, he did not think it worth while to interfere to stir the
coals of an insurrection which was burning brightly enough
without any aid from him. The very suspicion, however, was
enough to increase Charles's anxieties. In one way or another,
the Scottish troubles must be brought to an end, if his rule
were not to become as despicable abroad as it was insecure at
home.
Step by step, therefore, pushed on by fate, which is but the
consequence of past errors, Charles moved slowly and unwil-
lingly towards war. On January 15 Hamilton told,
Hamjiton 1 . before the English Privy Council, the story of his
relation. bootless mission. The discussions which followed
were long and anxious. Charles inclined to continue negotiation.
' ' Roc to Coke, Dec. 14, S. P. Germany.
1 639 WARLIKE PLANS. 383
Disaffection, as he well knew, was widely spread in England,
and any attempt to levy money would be met by redoubled
outcries for a Parliament l It little mattered what scheme of
pacification might nebulously form itself in Charles's mind.
Even before Hamilton's arrival, Sir Jacob Astley, a veteran who
had served long in the Netherlands, was sent down to the
North to muster the trained bands, and to bring them to due
efficiency. 2 It was, indeed, officially stated that the object of
these precautions was resistance to a possible invasion, 3 but it
was hardly likely that such an announcement would be seriously
believed. On January 17, the Committee on Scotch
Affairs recommended the King to select from the
trained bands a force of 30,000 men. It was arranged that the
King should go to York in April, to treat or fight as occasion
might serve, and that Newcastle and Hull should be placed in
a state of defence. 4 Arms and munitions of war were brought
over from the Continent in large quantities.
Men and arms alone were not enough. "If money is to
be found, and the Puritans kept quiet," wrote a disinterested
Financial onlooker, " all will go well." 5 Whatever the Puri-
schemes. tans m ight do at some future time, they showed no
signs of stirring now. For the navy, of course, ship-money
was still available ; yet, either because the excitement roused
by the result of Hampden's trial had alarmed the Court, or
because, in view of the probability that money would be needed
for land- service, it was thought wiser to decrease the burdens
caused by the fleet as much as possible, no writ of ship-
Ship-money. . , , , . .
money was issued at the usual time in the autumn
of 1638. When January came, the writs were indeed sent out,
1 Salvetti's News-Letttr, Jan. ^. Bellievre to De Noyers, Jan. ^'
Aff. Elr. xlvii. fol. 341, 351. JoacHimi to the States-General, Jan. ^'
Aid. AfSS. 17,677 Q, fol. 10. Giustinian to the Doge, Jan. ^|, Ven.
1 'ranscripts.
2 Astley to Windebank, Jan. 4, II, S. P. Dom. ccccix. 24, 65.
8 The King to the Lords-Lieutenant, Jan. n, ibid, ccccix. 59.
4 Minutes of the Committee, Jan. 17, ibid, ccccix. 106, 107.
- Salvetti's News-Letter, J -.
384 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVII.
but only 6g,oool. was asked for : about a third of the amount
levied in former years. It was calculated that this would be
sufficient to fit out the eighteen vessels which it was proposed
to despatch to the coast of Scotland under Pennington's
command. 1
It was less easy to find means for the equipment and pay-
ment of the army. Early in the year, calculations were made
26 ^ l ^ e ex P ense w ^ich would be entailed by the army
The nobility of 30,000 men which it had been originally intended
serve. r ' to place on the Borders. Such an army, it appeared,
The English could only be maintained at the rate of 935,0007. a
force. year. 2 So large an expenditure was beyond Charles's
means, and he therefore resolved to content himself with a
smaller force. One scheme there was which recommended
itself as in some small measure an alleviation of the burden.
By their feudal tenures, the nobility were bound to follow the
King to war when his banner was displayed before him. It was
true that many years had passed since the fulfilment of this
duty had been required ; but the King, who had replenished
his exchequer by enforcing the antiquated obligation to take up
knighthood, might very well replenish his army by enforcing
the antiquated obligation to personal service. Every peer of
the realm was therefore directed to appear in person in defence
of the Borders, bringing with him such a following as his dignity
required. It was gleefully calculated at Whitehall, that in this
way the Royal camp would receive an accession of at least 1,200
horse without any payment whatever. 3
Early in February, orders were given for the levy of 6,000
foot and i.ooo horse, to form the nucleus of the larger force
which was to gather round the Royal standard. To these were
1 Order in Council, Jan. 23, S. P. Dom. ccccix. 194.
2 S. P. Dom. ccccxv. 119. Mr. Hamilton dates this paper conjec-
turally in March. The project had been abandoned by that time, and it
can hardly have been drawn up much later than the end of January. In
his Preface he speaks erroneously of the number of 30,000 being that which
actually marched.
* The King to Lord Grey of Werk, Jan. 26. Northumberland to
Con way, Jan. 29, S. P. Dom. ccccx. 24, 80.
1639 AN ARMY TO BE LEVIED. 385
to be added 4,006 of the trained bands of Yorkshire, Durham,
and Northumberland. Charles would thus, after
Feoruary. '
Seven taking account of the cavalry furnished by the no-
men^o"be bility, have an army of about 12,000 men, disposable
for service in the field. For garrison duty at Ber-
wick the Earl of Lindsey was to bring 2,000 men from Lincoln-
shire, and the Earl of Cumberland was to command at Carlisle
with a force of 800 soldiers, of whom 300 were to be supplied
from Wentworth's Irish levies. A little army of 5,000 men
from the eastern counties was to follow Hamilton on shipboard,
that it might be landed r.t Aberdeen to join Huntly in the
North. Taken altogether, the forces at the King's disposal
might be reckoned as not far short of 20,000 men. 1
Such a force would probably have been insufficient for the
work in hand, even if Charles had been assured of national
Feeling in support. Of this, however, there was no sign. The
Eng.and. nobility, indeed, had either obeyed his summons, or,
in cases of sickness or old age, had sent money in lieu of ser-
vice. Wentworth, detained in Ireland by his official duties, had
directed his steward to pay 2,ooo/. to the King as soon as he
appeared in the North. The Catholic Marquis of Winchester
sent 5oo/. On the other hand, the Puritan Lord Brooke, when
summoned to attend the King, replied that he ' did not appre-
hend himself obliged to any aid of that nature but by Parlia-
ment.' 2 The equally Puritan Lord Saye returned a somewhat
similar answer. The letter of the law was, however, clearly
against them, and on second thoughts they expressed their
readiness to attend his Majesty, at least within the realm of
England.
For the army thus constituted it was necessary to provide
commanders. The general-in-chief was to be the Earl of
Arundel, the stately nobleman who had fared ill in his mission
to Vienna, and who, as a Catholic by conviction, hated the
1 The details will be found in the accounts of the Treasurer of the
Army, Audit Office Declared Accounts, Bundle 301, Roll 1148. Hamil-
ton's men are there given as 4,500. Hamilton himself reckons them at
5,000, perhaps counting officers, artillerymen, and supernumeraries.
2 Minutes by Nicholas, Feb., 5. P. Dom. ccccxiii. 117.
VOL. VIII. C C
3 86 THE: ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVII.
Presbyterian Scots. The new commander had never looked
en the face of war. It had been originally intended to confer
the command of the horse upon the Earl of Essex, who had seen
some service in the Netherlands. ' The Queen, however, begged
Holland, this post for her favourite, the Earl of Holland, the
thTHoisef most incompetent of men, and Essex had to content
and Essex himself with the less brilliant office of second in corn-
second in
command, mand of the entire army. The seeds of jealousy
were thus .sown before a single regiment was formed. Arundel
vowed that he would throw up his command rather than see
Holland in a post of such authority, and it was only upon the
warm intercession of the King that he was induced to withdraw
his resignation. 2
- Even if Charles should resolve on increasing his army be-
yond the limit originally fixed, it would leave much to be desired
in point of training. A body of veterans, if such a body could
be found, would form a nucleus round which the raw English
levies would soon acquire the consistency of a disciplined force.
Such veterans were to be found in Flanders, and as early as in
1638. the summer of 1638 a proposal had been made to
Spanish the Spanish Government for the loan of a body of
soldiers . , .
asked for. troops. On that occasion Cardenas had been in-
structed to refuse the request. So incurable was the distrust
which Charles had sown around him, that Olivares feared lest
a victory in Scotland might be followed by a league between
England and France, in the same way that Richelieu feared
lest it might be followed by a league between England and
Spain. 3
The scheme, dropped for a time, was revived a few months
later. In January 1639, a certain Colonel Gage, a Catholic
officer in the Spanish service, communicated to the English
1 His service in the Palatinate, of which historians are fond of talking,
was next to nothing.
7 Northumberland to Went worth, Jan. 29, Straffitrd Letters, ii. 276.
The King to Arundel, Feb. 9, S. P. Dom. ccccxii. 74. Con to Barberini,
Feb. i, Aad. MSS. 15,392, fol. 39.
1 Philip IV, to Cardenas, Sept. - 3 -, 1638, Simancas MSS. 2575.
1 639 THE SCOTTISH FORCES. 387
Government his belief that the Cardinal Infant might be
1639. induced to supply Charles with a veteran force for his
G^s ary ' Scotch campaign, if he were allowed to raise from
proposal. y ear to year a large number of recruits in England
and Ireland by voluntary enlistment. A special emissary was
February, accordingly sent to Brussels to carry on the nego-
rds S annot tiation. The Cardinal Infant received him politely,
be spared, j^ assured him that, menaced as he was by French
armies, he could not spare a single man. 1
Charles was thus saved from the consequences of the
most ruinous step which he had hitherto contemplated. It can
hardly be doubted that if these Spanish regiments had set foot
in England, the whole country from the Cheviots to the Land's
End would have broken out into instant rebellion.
Trained and war-worn troops, the value of which had been
thus recognised by Charles, were not wanting to Scotland. The
Scottish vei T poverty of the Scots, through no prevision of
t S he d GermaT tneir own > na< ^ mSL & e them strong. For many a year,
War - a stream of needy, stalwart adventurers had been
flowing over from Scotland into Germany to be converted into
hardy warriors by Gustavus Adolphus and his lieutenants.
Many a man had returned, bringing with him his share of the
plunder of Germany, together with an enthusiasm for the Pro-
testantism which had been to him a war cry leading to fortune,
as well as a strengthening faith in the hour of peril. Small as
the population of Scotland was, when the hour of battle came,
she would be able to oppose to the loose ranks of untrained
peasants which were all that Charles could bring into the field,
an army which comprised at least a fair proportion of practised
soldiers.
No special credit is due to the Covenanting leaders for
being ready to make use of the instrument of war which cir-
cumstances had placed in their hands. But credit is due to
1 Col. Gage to G. Gage, p' 2 . Instructions to Col. Gage, Feb. 5.
Col. Gage to Windebank, Feb. ~ G Gage to Windebank, ^ eb -' 3 '
26 Mar
26
C'arendon S. P. ii. 21.
388 THE ASSEMBLY CF GLASGOW, CH. LXXXVII.
them for avoiding the fault into which a proud and high-spirited
The com- nobility is most apt to fall. Very early they resolved
s c a o n uish f thc tnat no R tnes or Loudoun should contest, as Essex
army. an( j Holland were contesting, for those posts of mili-
tary trust to which they were unequal. The professional army
of Scotland was to have a professional commander.
The leader of whom they were in search was found in
Alexander Leslie, an illegitimate son of a Fifeshire laird.
Alexander Deformed in person, and of low stature, he had
Leslie. served with credit in the German wars, and, if he
had not gained high renown as a strategist, he was skilled in
the arts by which recruits are trained into soldiers, and posts
1638. are occupied and held. In the spring of 1638,
April. when he was in command of a force in the Swedish
Scotland. service in Pomerania, he visited Scotland in order to
fetch away his wife and family. On his way he was presented
to the King in London, and told Roe that, if his present
masters could spare him, he would be happy to undertake the
command of the army which it was at that time proposed to
raise for the Elector Palatine. 1 Thrown into the midst of the
excitement then spreading over his native country, he may even
in the spring of 1638 have seen his way to a position which
promised more than the service of the feeble Charles Lewis.
It is not probable that he was himself very enthusiastic in the
cause-of the Covenant, or in any other cause whatever. For
that very reason he was the better fitted to take the command
of an army in which there were many enthusiasts. No doubt
he entered into communication with Rothes, the head of the
family of Leslie ; and, whether any actual offer of command
were made to him at this time or not, Rothes was not likely
to forget so useful a kinsman.
Leslie returned to the Continent. Before the end of the
year he was again in Scotland, after slipping through the watch
1 Roe to Elizabeth, March 22 ; Elizabeth to Roc, April 2, S. P.
Germany Zonca to the Doge, April 6, Ven. Transcripts. R. O. This
puts an end to the story which has been copied from Spaldirg hy most
writers, that Leslie came home with the intention of settling in Scotland.
On the fable of his inability to write, see Masson's Life of Alilten, ii. 55.
1639 ALEXANDER LESLIE. 389
of the English cruisers in a small barque. He was able to
gladden the hearts of his fellow-countrymen by the
November. * i,,,-iii ,
Returns to announcement that he had induced large numbers of
:ot an . g co ts arriving in Germany to take the Covenant, and
that he had procured large stores of military supplies for the
use of the Scottish army at home. 1 From time to time arms
and powder were conveyed across the sea. Some of these
supplies were intercepted by Charles's agents, but the greater
part was safely landed. Soon after the conclusion of the
1639. sittings of the Assembly of Glasgow, Leslie was
February. mves t e d w ith the rank of generah Active prepara-
1 akes the
command, tions for defence were made on every side. " We
are busy," wrote a Scotchman in February, " preaching, pray-
ing, and drilling ; could his Majesty and his subjects in Eng-
land come hither, they will find a harder welcome than before,
unless we be made quit of the bishops." 2
On February 14, the Covenanters brought matters to a
crisis. They appealed from the King to the English people.
t They were loyal, they said, to their sovereign, and
The Scottish most anxious to remain on good terms with their
manifesto, brethren in the South. All the mischief which had
happened had been the fault of some ' Churchmen of the
greatest power in England.' These men had introduced inno-
vations into their own Church, had fined and banished those
who strove to resist the Church of Rome, and had finally inter-
fered with the Scottish Church in order to create a precedent
for similar work in England. Was the English nation willing
to fight in such a cause? Already Papists Arundel, whose
secret convictions were well known, was clearly pointed out
were placed in command of the army preparing against
Scotland. If war there was to be, it would be war for the
re-establishment of the bishops. If an English Parliament
were convened, it would approve the equity and loyalty of the
Scots. 3
Charles was stung to the quick. The appeal to an English
1 Baillie, i. in.
- Craig to Stewart, Feb. 12, S. P. Dom. ccccxii. 103.
Push-worth, li, 798.
390 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVH.
Parliament was specially annoying, and the assertion that he
Charles's was showing undue favour to the Catholics would be
resentment. w jd e ly circulated in England. He had long been
contending against the belief that Laud was a friend of the
Papacy in disguise, and, in order to refute it, he had recently
directed the Archbishop to publish his narrative of the Con-
Feb. 10. ference in which, fifteen years before, he had upheld
Publication the doctrines of the English Church against the
Con/ere Jesuit Fisher. The book appeared on February 10,
only to be received with jeers by Catholic and
Puritan. 1 Laud could no longer count upon equitable con-
sideration. At this very moment he was exposing himself to
fresh obloquy by an unwise Star Chamber prosecution, directed
Feb against his old antagonist, Bishop Williams. Certain
Williams letters, written by a schoolmaster named Osbaldiston,
The^star K were found in Williams's house at Buckden. In
Chamber. jh ese letters an unnamed personage was irreverently
styled ' the little urchin,' and ' the little meddling hocus-pocus.'
There can be no reasonable doubt that Laud was intended.
Williams suggested that the words referred to one Mr. Spicer.
Williams was, however, condemned to pay a fine of 5,ooo/. to
the King, and 3,ooo/. to the Archbishop, for having these
letters in his possession. Osbaldiston, who was present in
Court, slipped away as soon as he heard how matters were
likely to go, and eluded all pursuit. He left behind him a
written explanation that he had fled beyond Canterbury. 2
Charles was able to fine and imprison his English subjects.
The Scots were beyond his reach. On February 27 he
Feb. 27. published a proclamation in reply to the Scottish
The Kings manifesto. It was untrue, he said in effect, that the
tion. religion of Scotland was attacked. It was perfectly
safe in his hands. The Scots were aiming at the destruction
of monarchical government. They had been tampering with
his English subjects, and were now preparing tc- invade Eng-
1 Laud's Diary, Feb. 10, Works, iii. 231. Con to Barbtrini, Ff b ' f
March 4,
Add. MSS. 15,392, foL 52.
2 Rush'iVorth, ii 803.
1639 THE ' LARGE DECLARATION? &1
land, in order that their leaders might repair their broken
fortunes by the plunder of the South. 1 If he was now com-
pelled to levy an army, it was not merely to vindicate his rights
in Scotland. The very safety of England was at stake. " The
question," he said, "is not now whether a Service Book is to
be received or not, nor whether episcopal government shall be
continued or presbyterial admitted, but whether we are their
King or not" This proclamation was appointed to be read in
every parish church in England. 2 It was speedily
Deliara^ e followed by the Large Declaration, as it was called,
a portly volume in which the whole story of the
misdeeds of the Scots was set forth at length from the King's
point of view. The writer, a Scotchman, named Dr. Balcan-
qual, had accompanied Hamilton to Glasgow as his chaplain.
He now received the Deanery of Durham as the reward of his
advocacy.
In one point, at least, Charles was undoubtedly right. The
coming war would be a struggle for supremacy. Monarchy,
Character of as ^ na ^ Deen hitherto understood, was now chal-
the struggle, lenged by the principle of national sovereignty
clothed in ecclesiastical forms. The issue thus raised could
hardly be fought out in Scotland alone. As the Scottish
manifesto declared, ttie future of England was involved in the
strife which was now opening in the North. 3
1 Charles had said much the same thing of Eliot, when he described
him as ' an outlaw desperate in mind and fortune. '
2 Rush-worth, ii. 830.
3 Amongst the Melboutne MSS. is a letter, dated Feb. 20, from Argyle,
and apparently addressed to Laud, in which the writer attempts to minimise
the differences between them. " Although," he says, " I do not under-
take to excuse anything His Majesty is pleased to disallow, yet with your
lordship's favour, I believe you shall find that the complaints of that pres-
bytery your lordship mentions, which we call our Church or General
Assembly, is concerning very essential differences between the Reformed
Church and that of Rome ; and so far only against bishops as they trans-
gress the laws and lawful constitutions of this Church and kingdom ; for
whether or not there be a fundamental point in religion is not here ques-
tioned nor determined : nor what is fundamental excltunrt do I think any
man will presume to define, so as it may be a sufficient rule for others."
392 THE ASSEMBLY OF GLASGOW. CH. LXXXVII.
farther on, Argyle complains that his countrymen are accused of dis-
obedience, ' when truly they only oppose voluntary and constrained actions
in religious duties in relation to him who requires cheerfulness at our hands,
which I hope no Christian will deny ? '
In the last passage Argyle goes, from a modern point of view, to the root
of the matter. He ends with a stroke at Laud's interference. "So," he
writes, " I wish your Lordship and all others of the reformed Church (not
knowing the constitutions of this) were as charitable to it, and meddled as
little in disquieting her peace as, I hope, they have carefully prevented
that fault by their proceedings here."
END OF THE EIGHTH VOLUME,
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